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Britons' credit card details found on criminal website

Tue, 12 Jul 2005

British credit card users have become the victims of another credit card scam, fuelling fears about identity fraud.

The details of thousands of 1,500 credit card customers were revealed on a website.

Credit card numbers, types of credit cards, the expiry dates and issue numbers of credit cards as well as the credit card user's phone numbers, home addresses and email addresses were listed on a website.

Authorities have failed to discover the site, with an obscure URL, that has been in operation since September 2002.

An office manager found the website by accident in a search for a builder. The website is linked to criminal gangs in Malaysia.

The credit card details that were published on the website belonged to bankrupt online toy retailer Dawson & Son. The company was targeted by a hacker before going bankrupt in August 2003.

Dan Hardman, head of technology at online security company 7safe, said most retailers are unaware of being hacked, or they fail to report the crime.

"It only takes one retailer out of ten to have poor security to create a problem," he said, adding that criminal hacking gangs have "extremely sophisticated methods" that can infiltrate most systems.

Police with the Dedicated Cheque and Plastic Crime Unit have now launched an investigation.

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