Starbucks patrons are a vulnerable group, especially prone to hackers' nefarious plans, or so it would seem. If it isn't the free Wi-Fi then it's the gift cards that are automatically reloaded with funds directly from the user's bank account to pay for regular caffeine hits.
The gift card, designed to make coffee transactions as smooth as possible are now being exposed as an inadvertent trojan horse, perfect for hackers who desire bank details and quick access to victim's money. Hackers are able to steal hundreds of dollars in just a few minutes because of the auto-reload feature that causes funds to be repleted once the balance on the card reaches nil. The hackers usually begin by changing the email and the password of the cards, thus ensuring that the legitimate card owner has no knowledge of any balance changes.
Maria Nistri, 48, of Orlando, FL, was a victim of the gift cards scam. She had $34.77 loaded onto her card. Hackers gained access to the card and drained the money. When the balance of the card hit zero, it recharged and allowed the hackers to take an additional $25. They quickly changed the amount of the reload and gained an additional $75. The crime takes place in a matter of minutes.
Nistri first became aware that her money was being stolen when she receive an email from Starbucks telling her the card was being recharged. She responded quickly to the theft and contacted Starbucks. Because it was before 8 a.m. Nistri was unable to reach Starbucks to notify them of the theft, and she lost $163.
Consumers often use the same username and passwords for different accounts across the internet. Hackers can then use the usernames and passwords they steal to try and hack into other accounts to steal even more.
Starbucks patrons are advised to ensure that the auto-reload is turned off and that they use a unique username and password if they feel that they cannot live without their Starbucks gift card.
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