A new credit card scam is costing American consumers very little, but generating a multi-million dollar fortune for hackers. Dubbed the “$9.84 scam”, the scam targets American credit card users with a single payment for $9.84 – a sum that the scam’s perpetrators likely believe is small enough not to arouse suspicion.
Computer security experts believe that the scam is unrelated to the recent security breaches at retailers like Target and Neiman Marcus, but warn that it could become more commonplace as the data from these hacking attacks becomes available on the underground online forums used by credit card fraudsters.
Brian Krebs, of krebsonsecurity.com, has been monitoring the scam and tracking its development. He believes that the scam has been occurring since long before Target and other retailers were hacked, and that the fraudulent activity peaked during the Christmas holidays.
During the holiday period, consumers are less likely to notice small changes to their credit cards, and less likely to report them as suspicious. Krebs warns consumers to cancel their credit cards if they notice charges for $9.84, which he believes are likely to be suspicious.
American credit card users have been targeted by a variety of similar scams over the past two years. Other fraudsters have used $1 “trial” payments in order to access the credit card accounts of millions of North American consumers, who were then billed for a variety of unrelated subscriptions and services.
Geri Detweiler, the director of consumer education at Credit.com, suggests disputing any fraudulent charges immediately. She claims that scammers frequently make tiny charges to victims’ credit cards immediately after gaining their data, and could make larger charges in the future if their first fraudulent transactions go unnoticed.
