BE WATCHFUL... CREDIT CARD INFO ON GOOGLE SEARCHES

The power of Google has extended into the credit card industry.

Google queries provide stolen credit cards

By Robert Lemos
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
August 3, 2004

Simple queries using the Google search engine can turn up a handful of sites that have posted credit card information to the Web, CNET News.com learned on Tuesday.

The lists of financial information include hundreds of card holders' names, addresses and phone numbers as well as their credit-card data. Much of the credit-card data that appears in the lists found by Google may no longer be valid, but CNET called several people listed and verified that the credit cards numbers were authentic. The query, the latest example of "Google hacking," highlights increasing concern that knowledgeable Web surfers can turn up sensitive information by mining the world's best-known search engine. (full article)