Easy Target For Credit Card Hackers

Every time you swipe your credit card and wait for the transaction to be approved, sensitive data including your name and account number are ferried from store to bank through computer networks, each step a potential opening for hackers.

And while you may take steps to protect yourself against identity theft, an Associated Press investigation has found the banks and other companies that handle your information are not being nearly as cautious as they could.

It means every time you pay with plastic, companies are gambling with your personal data. If hackers intercept your numbers, you'll spend weeks straightening your mangled credit, though you can't be held liable for unauthorized charges. Even if your transaction isn't hacked, you still lose:

Merchants pass to all their customers the costs they incur from fraud.More than 70 retailers and payment processors have disclosed breaches since 2006, involving tens of millions of credit and debit card numbers, according to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. Meanwhile, many others likely have been breached and didn't detect it.

Even the companies that had the payment industry's top rating for computer security, a seal of approval known as PCI compliance, have fallen victim to huge heists.Companies that are not compliant with the PCI standards — including one in 10 of the medium-sized and large retailers in the United States — face fines but are left free to process credit and debit card payments.

Most retailers don't have to endure security audits, but can evaluate themselves.Credit card companies are not in a hurry to tighten the rules. They view fraud as cost of doing business and strickter rules would not be good for their business.Hackers can and have plundered companies that process payments and have PCI standards.

In 2006 retailers and payment processors have spent more than $2 billion on security upgrades to comply with PCI. The payment industry touts the fact that 93 percent of big retailers in the U.S. are compliant with the PCI rules.Computer security experts say the the PCI guidelines are superficial and not monitored the way they should be. That leaves the consumer at risk.We need stricker rules. The public needs the assurrance that the credit card companies are going to take the steps that are necessary to protect their clients. It is their responsiblity to protect the people that do business with their credit cards.

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