May 17, 2010

Credit card hijack warning as hackers steal consumer data across Australia

http://www.themercury.com.au


ONLINE shoppers have been given another reminder to keep a close eye on their personal details.

Thw warning comes after after a Glenorchy woman became a victim of an international fraud operation.

Bianca Jade-Stubbs's credit card details were stolen by fraudsters who hacked into the computer system of a Queensland online grocery store last month, robbing her of nearly $2000.

"We buy Australian-grown coffee from an online merchant called onlyoz.com.au and we received an email from them recently saying their security system was breached," Mrs Jade-Stubbs said.

"Obviously they kept credit card details somewhere in their database and the hackers found them."

OnlyOz advised its customers to watch out for any unauthorised activity on their credit card accounts.

About two weeks ago Mrs Jade-Stubbs noticed transactions on her debit card bill for $17 at online movie site Netflix and almost $1000 at online fashion/beauty store QVC.

"I called ANZ to tell them about it and they closed the account and referred it on to their fraud department," she said.

But on Friday Mrs Jade-Stubbs's Mastercard also was hit by the scammers, who used it to buy high-speed train tickets in Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

"That one obviously wasn't me, so I had that card cancelled as well," she said.

She said ANZ would most likely refund the lost money but she had not heard back from Mastercard yet.

OnlyOz assured its customers the breach had been referred to a professional internet security firm while investigations were carried out and, in the meantime, online credit card sales had been halted.

Mrs Jade-Stubbs, a graphic designer, does a lot of shopping online for Australian-made and organic clothing, food and other items not available locally.

"You hear stories about this happening but don't think it will happen to you," she said.

"I'll probably have to start using something like PayPal now to help prevent it from happening again."

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission recommends giving your credit card details only to trusted websites and always checking your credit card balance carefully for any suspicious activity, reporting it immediately.