MUMBAI, JULY 25: The Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited's (VSNL) recent crackdown on hackers in the city has brought to light a murkier arena in the cyber jungle the acquisition of international credit card numbers, enabling hackers to shop online on other people's accounts for expensive computer software and other related items without being smelt out by authorities.There are apparently a dozen such hackers from Mumbai, claims one of the city's top hackers. A relatively new area of crime, VSNL's acting Chairperson and Managing Director Amitabh Kumar says he has received complaints regarding ``cc hacking'', as it is known, from five to six people, mostly from the United States.Since `cc hacking' is not as rampant as password hacking, it is not yet the focus of VSNL's crackdown, adds Kumar.``India hasn't officially recognised e-commerce, but since it is valid in other advanced countries, credit card hacking is booming. Though we have received a few complaints in this regard, we are waiting to book Mumbai's top19 password hackers, who we have identified using sophisticated technology, before we break into cc hacking,'' Kumar says.He added that if VSNL gets an official complaint from any international credit card company, he will surely put the tracer machines on the scent of these hackers. ``But, we will not entertain individual complaints from credit card holders yet,'' said Kumar. ``Going by the increase in Internet crimes, the Government of India will soon have to form a new `Internet Police Department' like in other advanced countries,'' adds a senior technocrat.Speaking to Express Newsline, a 21- year old hacker, codenamed RobRoy, claims to have access to international credit cards with a total limit of a whopping Rs 1.30 crore. ``Thanks to various hacker sites on the Net, it is easy to make on-line purchases by using someone else's credit cards. As the crime is new, it will be sometime before VSNL control's it,''he says.He, however, stated that hackers were steering clear of decoding bona-fide user'sNet passwords as VSNL is maintaining a strict vigil with its `Caller ID' technology that can trace the hacker to his lair.``One has to have an elementary knowledge of computers to get a hang of credit card hacking. The toughest task is to crack open the secure server of an international credit card company like Visa or Master Card and get a list of credit card numbers. This step is usually executed by extremely talented hackers,'' he explains from the safety of his dingy room. The easier way for lesser hackers to break into the business is to befriend ace hackers, or get to a Net site, tradingcc.com where one can actually barter a stolen credit card number. ``I used to earlier swap software and interactive games for credit card numbers, but I hit it big when I chatted online with a Russian hacker,'' he recalls.Posing as a woman, he got 50 credit card numbers belonging to American and Canadian nationals mainly. ``Using these credit cards, I access sites which require an entry fee or buy virtual software.In India, however, I cannot buy real stuff, like books or CDs, because I would be courting arrest by giving the address where the goods would be mailed,''he says.An interesting twist to this hi-tech robbery is that a hacker cannot use a credit card number more than once. ``The real credit card owner may alert his company about the theft once you have used the number. But even then, you are safe as the card company can only track you till the VSNL Gateway in Mumbai (see image) and no further,'' RobRoy reasons.
