Beware of credit-card thieves and online scammers dangling Apple gear

“Mac geeks estimate that Apple presold 120,000 iPads on March 12, but it’s not just aficionados who are gearing up for Cupertino’s next big thing: The iPad is expected to be a target for credit-card thieves and online scammers of all types,” Martha C. White reports for The Washington Post. ” McAfee is already warning consumers not to fall for e-mails or ads promising a free or reduced-price iPad if they enter an address… and a credit card number.”

“Why is Apple so popular with scammers? Its business model gives them two ways to use stolen credit-card numbers, according to Robert Vamosi, research analyst specializing in security, fraud and risk for market research firm Javelin Strategy & Research,” White reports. “First, electronics are a hot category for thieves.”

“Of course, Apple isn’t the only company that makes or sells hardware; electronics retailers and big-box stores are also targeted by thieves,” White reports. “Wal-Mart seems to be another popular mark; security experts say overseas scammers gravitate toward it because they’re familiar with the brand name (8,000 stores in 15 countries will do that) and because of the company’s recent foray into more name-brand electronics. Domestic scammers like the Bentonville behemoth because it offers a nearly limitless variety of merchandise that can be bought with a stolen card and either resold on the street or returned for credit. Also, hardware is valuable because when thieves get their hands on the newest equipment, they can keep up their end of the arms race with banks, retailers and other developers of security features aimed at locking them out of the marketplace.”

White reports, “There’s a second reason Apple could be at risk. When professional credit-card scammers get card numbers, they don’t get just one. They get dozens or even hundreds, of which only a handful might still be valid. One of the easiest ways to test if a number has been “switched off” is to make a small, innocuous purchase. A 99-cent mp3 file of Ke$ha or Taylor Swift does the trick nicely, and the ubiquitous nature of iTunes means such a purchase is less likely to trip an automatic fraud monitor at the card’s issuer.”

Full article here.