A few months ago, NordVPN made a shocking revelation. Following a study conducted on 4 million different credit and debit cards currently used in over 140 countries, they concluded that it takes just 6 seconds for hackers to crack your credit or debit card security and steal your money! Here’s everything you need to know about the process and how to protect yourself from it.
What We Know So Far
The unfortunate result of this study was made known to the public by Marijus Briedis, the current CTO at NordVPN, one of the world’s leading VPN providers. According to the report, even though there are different ways to penetrate a payment card’s security, the one most favored by hackers is “brute forcing,” which takes just six (6) seconds. Marijus observed that this standard method of cracking payment cards is likely why so many credit cards and debit cards are available on the dark web.
How Brute Forcing Works
The study’s report determined that hackers brute force a payment card by trying to guess the card numbers and the card verification value (CVV). It is a relatively simple job because a payment card’s first 6 to 8 numbers are usually the card issuer’s ID numbers. The hacker only needs to guess the remaining 7 to 9 digits. And, because the 16th and final digit of a card number is a checksum and is only used to confirm if there is an error when inputting the card information, this task is much easier for them. So, using a standard computer, completing this attack from start to finish doesn’t take more than 6 seconds.
The Best Ways To Secure Your Credit And Debit Card Information
The report wasn’t all doom and gloom, though, as it also revealed simple ways that card users can protect themselves from losing money to these attacks. We’ll be discussing the best two approaches now.
Approach #1 – Monitor Your Monthly Bank Statements
The best way to thwart the efforts of these hackers is to make sure that you monitor your monthly statements. As there’s currently no way that financial activity can occur on your account without it reflected in the report, you’ll be able to quickly tell something’s amiss the moment you check this record and see signs of suspicious activity.
Approach #2 – Use Multiple Bank Accounts
Another great way to forestall the loss of your precious funds here is by using different accounts for different purposes and only leaving as little as possible in the account linked to your payment card at any one point. You can also take advantage of temporary virtual cards if your bank offers them.
Takeaway
Staying one step ahead of hackers is easy if you remain careful, stay on guard and avoid suspicious online platforms. When you compliment those practices with the above tips, you can bolster your defenses even more!
