Thieves skim credit card data from Nordstrom by installing keyloggers

credit card theft

Three men stole credit card information from a Nordstrom department store in Florida by installing keyloggers, according to a report by KrebsOnSecurity. The accompanying police report alleges the men plugged standard keyloggers into the back of cash registers and later returned to remove them and the associated data.

It is not clear if the keyloggers indeed worked as planned and if the three men were successful in their heist in grabbing credit card information.

The keyloggers used by the thieves imitate that of a PS/2 keyboard connector, priced around $30-$40 apiece. Furthermore, they are connected via a keyboard cord between the keyboard and the computer to intercept the information transmitted between the two devices. Basically, any credit card numbers or other information that goes through the keyboard could end up in the thieves possession.

Florida police reports that Nordstrom video footage of the men highlighted a well thought out and executed plan. Three men enter the store; two distract the staff while the third thief fiddled with the cash register and the back of the computers. The men left and returned a few hours later where they pulled off the same teamwork scheme. However, this time around, the third thief installed the keyloggers and they once again left the building. Days later the men returned to collect the keyloggers, and as you might have guessed, they pulled it off by doing the same distraction trick.

Let’s hope Nordstrom customers have not been comprised in this attack, and that the police are swift in capturing these alleged thieves.

[via KrebsOnSecurity, image via Oliver’s Market]

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