Carding may refer to :

• A carder is someone who "cards" or combs material in order to align the fibres as in carding wool. Carders used large steel combs, cards, to align the fibres of raw sheep fleeces to enable them to be further processed. This process combs out some of the dirt, organizes the fibers, and fluffs up the wool with air so the 'spinner' can use it easily.

• A carder is a criminal who engages in carding, a form of identity theft. Carders use lists of credit and debit card information to perpetrate multiple acts of fraud (by web or by phone), by making purchases without the consent of the original cardholder.

Carders may obtain card numbers by various means:

• • Hacking servers operated by online merchants who store unencrypted card information.
  • Extracting card information from data keyed into consumer machines infected with a keystroke logging virus.
  • Trading or purchasing lists of cards from other online criminals.
  • Engaging in phishing scams to intercept card information.

Carders may also use card generators. These are programs that extrapolate sequences of potentially valid new card numbers from a single card that is known to be valid. Card generators are generally ineffective following the adoption of expiry, AVS, CVV and PIN validation.

Carders may also veer into other forms of identity theft, such as obtaining the credentials (username and password) of consumers with online payment accounts, such as PayPal.

Carding is a form of wire fraud, and is a federal offense in the United States.

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Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; from the article "Carder". Image Credit.

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