Credit card users told: Be wary

CEBU, Philippines - An IT expert who hosts a yearly hacking conference yesterday warned credit card users to be more cautious following the arrest of a credit card hacker early this week.

Dax Labrador, founder of the yearly hacking convention called ROOTCON, said that credit card hacking exists since 1990. Labrador said it is an easy undertaking given the right equipment and skills. In fact, Labrador said “any IT graduate” is capable of hacking.

He said computer experts can easily obtain credit information using various portals and methods on the Internet. Hackers usually attack sites with weak security to obtain credit card information.

Labrador said it is very difficult to catch a hacker because most of them, if not all, are using proxy servers. 

According to Labrador, since hacking is inevitably a reality in the country, he urged credit card users to perform a simple precautionary checking while on the Internet. Labrador said that credit card users should only enter credible websites.

 Another safety precaution is to check the data transfer protocol used in the Worldwide Web which is commonly known by the sign “http” or the hypertext transfer protocol.   The public, according to him, should ensure that while visiting a site the http should have an additional letter “s” which signifies that the website is secure for users.

“With only http, everything can happen but with http(s), your account will be secured,” he said.

IT scholar Jerwin Gurrea Minglanilla of Talisay City was arrested last week during an entrapment operation conducted by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-7. Minglanilla used the credit card account of a doctor in purchasing airline tickets online. Minglanilla is selling airline tickets at a discounted price. 

At least seven victims of Minglanilla have already been traced by the CIDG but only three of them came out to file a complaint. (FREEMAN)