Is there a way to tell if I've been hacked?

[dillnw]

I recently discovered that my credit card had been used to buy $400 worth of Steelers/Colts tickets on ticketsnow.com. Luckily, I caught it in time to have Ticketsnow cancel the order. They are investigating fraud.

This is strange because the tickets had to be ordered online or by phone because I still have the credit card and had it the day it was used. If the order was made online or by phone, the person would need my billing address. The only place both my credit card number and billing address are present is on my computer (or my wallet, but we can rule that out since I haven't lost it) - which makes me lean towards some sort of security breech on my computer.

As I travel around throughout the day, my computer is frequently on unsecured networks, where I try to avoid doing financially sensitive things - but I would imagine its possible to gain access to personal information even if I'm not using it. Anyways, I was hoping to confirm this notion of a security breech so that I can determine exactly how much information was compromised. I've run a credit report, but even that wasn't up-to-date enough to see a new auto loan from a couple weeks ago - so I need to wait a bit for that to catch up to whatever is happening now.

So is there something I can do to find out if I've been hacked?

 

[misterredman]

The only place both my credit card number and billing address are present is on my computer

Are you sure you didn't print out something with the number?

Anyway how did you store the credit card number on you computer? You should save it in the Keychain (if you really have to) and be sure to have a strong password to protect the account.

 

[Consultant]

1. If it's a Mac, no such report of hack are ever related to Mac OS security. If it's running windows, maybe.

2. No matter how secure the OS, it doesn't matter if the user installs "codecs", etc. from questionable sites.

3. There are many ways for scammers to steal your information. Such as:
http://money.cnn.com/2005/06/17/news/master_card/index.htm
There was a big breach recently too. So no, it's not a Mac being hacked.

 

[Morod]

Do you shop online much with that same credit card? If so, it's possible that there was a 3rd party security breech. In other words, someone hacked into a computer where you have shopped before and taken data from it, and yours is fine. Hard to say where exactly these thefts occur, but they can occur in more places than just from your computer. Good luck!
Morod

 

[dillnw]

Anyway how did you store the credit card number on you computer?

My account information is password protected by Quicken for Mac 2007.

I guess what I'm looking for is something I can download or type into the Terminal that would give a history who's been accessing my computer. I'm pretty sure you can do this. I saw it in a movie once.

 

[arkitect]

My account information is password protected by Quicken for Mac 2007.

I guess what I'm looking for is something I can download or type into the Terminal that would give a history who's been accessing my computer. I'm pretty sure you can do this. I saw it in a movie once.

Don't believe everything you see in movies…

Besides, "movie" computers are special, they make all nice little sounds and boy those graphics are amazing.
Oh, and never a problem in getting a wireless connection n the middle of nowhere either.


My advice: Never leave any banking details on any computer. Goodness knows why people do.

 

[kolax]

I guess what I'm looking for is something I can download or type into the Terminal that would give a history who's been accessing my computer. I'm pretty sure you can do this. I saw it in a movie once.

Haha! Sorry to laugh at that - but in all seriousness, you think something can be done because it happened in a movie?!

Onto the topic again - credit card fraud can come from anything; badly disposed bank statements to someone taking a copy of your card in a restaurant (happened to my friend when he was on holiday, his card got cloned). As long as you keep everything unchecked in the Sharing pane in System Preferences you'll be fine, as long as you browse sensibly.