Carding
Professional
- Messages
- 2,870
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- Points
- 113
Fasten your seat belts and enjoy an exciting journey into the world of cyber fraud.
Selfies with your passport and boarding pass before your trip are a common trend . People share the photo on social networks to please their friends and followers. In fact, this is a good way to make yourself a target for cyber scammers.
"When you talk a lot online about your vacation, it dramatically increases the risk of hacking," warns Robinson Jardin, head of digital at NordVPN. The main danger is barcodes on coupons. They can be scanned by anyone using publicly available programs.
According to Jardin, barcodes or QR codes contain a whole treasure trove of data that hackers can eat-from personal information to the digital number of a regular airline customer. Some barcodes even contain passport and driver's license numbers. Such information is highly valued in the shadow market and is used for hacking, manipulating credit cards and purchases on behalf of the victim.
This way, you can even cancel a passenger's return flight or change the route — just for fun.
It is especially dangerous to upload screenshots of the barcodes themselves. "It's even easier for hackers to read them," the expert notes.
Even well-known figures like former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott were caught doing it. Shortly after posting an Instagram post* with a photo of a Qantas boarding pass, the politician's account was hacked, in just an hour. Fortunately, the hacker turned out to be decent and only warned Abbott about the risk.
One of the most common motivations is access to loyalty program points. According to Jardin, stolen "miles" can be converted into thousands of dollars ' worth of gift cards, effectively laundering them. And it's almost impossible to get your points back later.
Social engineering is also used. The attackers impersonate airline employees and ask them to confirm their credit card details, ostensibly for a return flight. Or they call the airline on behalf of the customer, using information from the barcode to get information.
According to NordVPN, 85% of Americans are afraid of hacking, but they continue to put their privacy at risk. Many people use the same passwords on different sites, which is only good for cybercriminals.
The experts basic advice is simple: don't post photos of barcodes, wait for vacation posts until you return home, and don't indicate your exact location on social networks.
Selfies with your passport and boarding pass before your trip are a common trend . People share the photo on social networks to please their friends and followers. In fact, this is a good way to make yourself a target for cyber scammers.
"When you talk a lot online about your vacation, it dramatically increases the risk of hacking," warns Robinson Jardin, head of digital at NordVPN. The main danger is barcodes on coupons. They can be scanned by anyone using publicly available programs.
According to Jardin, barcodes or QR codes contain a whole treasure trove of data that hackers can eat-from personal information to the digital number of a regular airline customer. Some barcodes even contain passport and driver's license numbers. Such information is highly valued in the shadow market and is used for hacking, manipulating credit cards and purchases on behalf of the victim.
This way, you can even cancel a passenger's return flight or change the route — just for fun.
It is especially dangerous to upload screenshots of the barcodes themselves. "It's even easier for hackers to read them," the expert notes.
Even well-known figures like former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott were caught doing it. Shortly after posting an Instagram post* with a photo of a Qantas boarding pass, the politician's account was hacked, in just an hour. Fortunately, the hacker turned out to be decent and only warned Abbott about the risk.
One of the most common motivations is access to loyalty program points. According to Jardin, stolen "miles" can be converted into thousands of dollars ' worth of gift cards, effectively laundering them. And it's almost impossible to get your points back later.
Social engineering is also used. The attackers impersonate airline employees and ask them to confirm their credit card details, ostensibly for a return flight. Or they call the airline on behalf of the customer, using information from the barcode to get information.
According to NordVPN, 85% of Americans are afraid of hacking, but they continue to put their privacy at risk. Many people use the same passwords on different sites, which is only good for cybercriminals.
The experts basic advice is simple: don't post photos of barcodes, wait for vacation posts until you return home, and don't indicate your exact location on social networks.
