Foreigner Hacks Into Bank Database, Stealing Crdit Card Info

[george]

Man hacked into KTB card base – DSI

BANGKOK: -- The Department of Special Investigation arrested a Malaysian man yesterday for allegedly stealing credit-card information from Krung Thai Bank by using telephone wiretaps to hack into its database.

Director-general Sombat Amornwiwat said Lee Kian Sin had caused more than Bt100 million in damage to the bank, which had kept the information theft a secret to avoid causing panic among its cardholders.

Sombat did not say how the hacking or phone bugging had been carried out but warned that people using KTC cards in the region south of Hat Yai district in Songkhla were at risk of having had their credit-card details stolen.

Sombat said bank customers who regularly ran up card balances of more than Bt100,000 were prime targets of the Malaysian suspect, who, he said, was part of a racket operating in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. The ring included store clerks who took down shoppers’ credit-card numbers and others who then sold items obtained through payments charged to an unsuspecting shopper’s credit card.

The DSI chief added that the Malaysian suspect had also sold at least one fake credit card with a ready-to-use number for Bt10,000.

He said Lee could face a prison term of up to seven years and six months as well as a fine of between Bt30,000 and Bt150,000 under a new anti-cyber-crime law.

Colonel Yannapol Yangyuen, chief of the Police Information Technology Centre, said gang members sometimes put fake cards back in place of the real ones they stole in order to stave off the cancellation of the card.

--The Nation 2006-02-22

[Michael W]

I wonder what the risk is to those who have made credit card purchases from a merchant who processed through Krung Thai, e.g. if I ate at a restaurant and paid for the meal with my Citibank Visa credit card with the restaurant processing the purchase through their Krung Thai merchant account.

[Joey Boy]

I wonder what the risk is to those who have made credit card purchases from a merchant who processed through Krung Thai, e.g. if I ate at a restaurant and paid for the meal with my Citibank Visa credit card with the restaurant processing the purchase through their Krung Thai merchant account.

If you go around swiping your cards for things like meals multiple times a day is only a matter of time before your bank rings you and asks if you are on a spending spree in Taiwan

[GuestHouse]

Thai Credit Cards offer no protection against fraudulent use.

Someone uses your Thai Credit Card illegally, clones your Thai Credit Card, or makes additional un authorized charges to your Thai Credit Card and it is YOU who gets to pay.

The levels of protection offered on Thai Credit Cards are pathetic compared with those issued in the US or EU.

[Michael W]

If you go around swiping your cards for things like meals multiple times a day is only a matter of time before your bank rings you and asks if you are on a spending spree in Taiwan

Actually in practice I only use it on a regular basis at Foodland and Big C for purchases over a few hundred baht. Further, since I've been using a credit card from this bank for a number of years in Thailand, my spending patterns in terms of fraud detection are fairly well established. And of course I carefully go over my statement each month.

Thai Credit Cards offer no protection against fraudulent use.

Someone uses your Thai Credit Card illegally, clones your Thai Credit Card, or makes additional un authorized charges to your Thai Credit Card and it is YOU who gets to pay.

The levels of protection offered on Thai Credit Cards are pathetic compared with those issued in the US or EU.

Fortunately, as a matter of habit I've only ever used my U.S. issued Citibank Visa credit card. But I've been kicking around the idea of eventually switching to HSBC. Does anyone know how good their fraud protection is?

[steveromagnino]

Thai Credit Cards offer no protection against fraudulent use.

Someone uses your Thai Credit Card illegally, clones your Thai Credit Card, or makes additional un authorized charges to your Thai Credit Card and it is YOU who gets to pay.

The levels of protection offered on Thai Credit Cards are pathetic compared with those issued in the US or EU.

Actually, this phone line tapping has been a big thing across Asia.

Krungsri Credit Card now offers a platinum card which has the EMV chip protection, and provides limited liability up to 24 hours prior to the tiome you report a lost card, which is better than most of the others.

Also, Thais and expats earning min 100k can apply with a full bi lingual call centre, no annual fee and the best benefits program pretty much of any card. Just launched this week, I applied already.

Check it, and of course this means it is part of the mighty GE empire:

www.krungsrigecard.com

[Prakanong2005]

"Thais and expats earning min 100k can apply with a full bi lingual call centre, no annual fee and the best benefits program pretty much of any card"

Is that 100k Thai THB a month or USD a year?

[TAWP]

Never ever use your credit cards over here for purchase. It's just not worth it. Besides, cab-drivers don't take plastic.

Cash is king.

[Joey Boy]

"Thais and expats earning min 100k can apply with a full bi lingual call centre, no annual fee and the best benefits program pretty much of any card"

Is that 100k Thai THB a month or USD a year?

How many Thais earn USD$100k a year

[Hollywood]

The credit card companies in the U.S. have saturated the market over here and have gotten 90 % of the middle class workers trapped in a living hel_l of years of payments , high interest,fees, and new protection where cards can't even be included in a bankruptcy. Their strategy now is to go after other countries and I saw numerous advertisement in the Bangkok Post with those enticing come-on adds to get people "hooked". Be careful Thailand.......

[mogoso]

The credit card companies in the U.S. have saturated the market over here and have gotten 90 % of the middle class workers trapped in a living hel_l of years of payments , high interest,fees, and new protection where cards can't even be included in a bankruptcy. Their strategy now is to go after other countries and I saw numerous advertisement in the Bangkok Post with those enticing come-on adds to get people "hooked". Be careful Thailand.......

I've several credit cards, and I pay no interest. I pay balance when billed. I get a small rebate on several of them, 1-2 % on what I've spent so actually they pay me to use them. Great protection on purchases doubling warranty time, and even protecting loss. Moving to Thailand will put me on a mostly cash basis I guess.

[sabaijai]

Never ever use your credit cards over here for purchase. It's just not worth it. Besides, cab-drivers don't take plastic.

Cash is king.

I've been using credit cards in Thailand on a near-daily basis for 29 years, so far (touch wood) never had a problem. The only time fraudulent charges to my account occurred was after a visit to the UK years ago when apparently someone picked up the number from a hotel rubbish basket (this was before they X'ed out most of the numbers). Someone when on a shopping spree in Paris and London for a few days but I wasn't liable for any of it.

Nowadays I check my card activity online at least once a week to look for anyting suspect, so far nothing in Thailand.

BTW I took a Taxi Meter the other day in Bangkok and the driver had a Visa machine for taking credit cards. Didn't try it.

[francois]

hi'

anyone wo want to be hired for security in such server can go now, it's time

their system is an open mill for any skilled crackers

francois