From Mary Landesman,
Your Guide to Antivirus Software.
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October 11, 2005

Numerous reports of credit card fraud have been pouring into DSLReports and other forums. The vast majority of complaints involve a fraudulent charge of $24.99 posted to the credit card as DIGITAL AGE 888-529-98 CYPRUS.

The victims of the Digital Age Cyprus fraud are diverse. Some reported their impacted credit cards had never been used online, eliminating Internet commerce as a suspect cause. One possibility that can't be overlooked is whether it is linked to the Card Systems credit card data theft that occurred from September 2004 through May 2005.

According to Congressional testimony provided by John Perry, President and CEO of Card Systems Solutions, the theft was carried out through the use of a malicious script planted on their system through an Internet-facing application. The malware was programmed to run every 4 days, at which time it sought out a specific file type and extracted credit card holder's names, account numbers, expiration dates and CVV codes. The extracted information was zipped and forwarded to an FTP site where it was presumably retrieved by the attackers.

CardSystems processed credit card data for all major credit card companies, including MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Discover, JCB and Diners Club. An estimated 40 million customers were at risk; of these, 263,000 accounts were known to have been stolen.

Other fraudulent charges, for $7.95 or $9.95, were allegedly made in conjunction with the Digital Age fraud. Reports of these additional charges included one or more of the following:

TROUBLE BUBBLE LLC 215-310-9444 PA
KC SOFTWARECOM LLC
SUN SOFTWARE SYSTEMS 480-4520120 AZ
JM BUSINESS PRODUCTS
ART MAGIC INC.COM
INNOVATIVE SOFTWARE-Computer Maint & Repair
WWW.BURDETTINC.COM 801-407-1342 UT
SOFTPROJECTS LLC COLUMBIA SC

If you find fraudulent charges on your bill, it's important to notify the credit card company promptly. Bankrate.com provides tips for ensuring your rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Rights may vary by country.