Fundamentals of Credit Card Engineering A Text File for the Aspiring Carder By: Jumping Jack Flash January 15, 1992 Updated on August 12, 1992 ŇDo what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.Ó -Aleister Crowley I. Introduction In November of 1985 I acquired an Apple //c. It was and still is a small, quaint computer with no frills and no dynamic design behind it, but it allowed me to enter into an entirely new world. Initially, I turned to programming, always attempting to figure out the inner workings of my computer and how it worked. Soon however, I began to get bored and after trading games with friends noticed how other users had ŇcrackedÓ the software protection and stamped their handles into the software code. Software cracking was exciting and very challenging, I never profited financially from cracking, but it served to enlighten me into the fun of the computer underworld. Things dried up around 1988-89, when the Apple // line rapidly diminished into the background as newer computers were introduced. New software became scarce and I stopped cracking. Then, a friend introduced me into the world of modems and hackers, and I was hooked. After awhile, I purchased a 2400 baud modem and began looking around. However, I was and still am not able to devote long hours or much time to my modem, so I never started hacking out systems. Finally, I came upon a way of obtaining peopleŐs credit card numbers and I began to explore that avenue of the computer underworld. After a successful string of ŇcardingÓ, and plenty of research I felt it was necessary to write a text file on the subject. This file deals with the structure of credit cards and the different methods of carding. By the way, if you havenŐt already figured it out, carding is illegal and constitutes a felony (minimum of 10 years and a probable fine). Hey, everything has itŐs price! ---> Background and Preparation <--- It is not wise to initially jump right in and start carding immediately after you read this. Read and re-read it, find other documentation and study that as well. Plan and map out your carding, be sure to map out ALL possible outcomes and scenarios. Research the company, find out what is required to make a credit card purchase, who they ship by (UPS, FedEx, etc..), find a good drop site and make sure it is easily accessible, empty (a good start!), and not easily monitored by anyone else. Plan out your story for the ordering. I also advise getting a pocket tone dialer (Radio Shack - $24.95). Where I am located, we have ŇSun PhonesÓ, which are pay phones that are independantly operated from Ma Bell. These phones let you charge phone calls to your credit card. The dialer keeps thing neat, you can program in the companyŐs phone number, credit card number, etc.. That way you donŐt have to stand at the pay phone punching all this stuff in, this saves time and attracts less attention. Mail order security is extremely tough these days, but it is not invincible. Keep trying and watch your back, you will succeed eventually and the payoff can be great. Good luck. II. Credit Card Types The first digit of the credit card number determines that cardŐs type. A credit cardŐs type is simply the card company (example: Visa). The following is a list of the four major types of credit card. Card Types First Digit --------------- ------------- American Express 3 Visa 4 Mastercard 5 Discover 6 III. Bank and Branch Numbers (Group 4) The first four numbers on the left of the credit card number are called Group 4. The first number is of course the card type, the remaining three contain the bank and branch information for that card. For example, if my bankŐs number is 000 and I was issued a Visa card my Group 4 would be 4000. I have acquired and compiled a small list of bank numbers for Visa and Mastercard. They will be helpful when attempting to create your own ŇcardsÓ. Visa (4) ----------- 000 AT&T Universal 003 Motorola Employees Credit Union 013 Bank of Baltimore 013 Chevy Chase 019 Bank of America 024 Bank of America 027 Rockwell Federal Credit Union 032 Household Bank 052 First Cincinnati 060 Associates National Bank 060 Navy Federal Credit Union 070 Security Pacific 071 Colonial National Bank 094 AMC Federal Credit Union 094 COOP Services Credit Union 113 Valley National Bank 114 Chemical Bank 121 Alaska USA Federal Credit Union 121 PA State Emp Credit Union 121 Penn State Employees Credit Union 121 Taneytown 122 Union Trust 128 Citibank (South Dakota) 131 State Street Bank 215 Marine Midland 225 Chase Manhattan 226 Chase Manhattan 231 Chase Lincoln First Classic 232 Chase Lincoln First Classic 239 Corestates 241 National Westminster Bank 250 First Chicago Bank 254 National Bank of Northeas 254 Security First 262 InvestorŐs Trust 271 Citibank Preferred 301 Monogram Bank 302 HHBC 310 BFCU 310 Imperial Savings 311 First National Bank of Louisville 312 Barnett Bank 316 Leader Federal 316 Pioneer Bank 316 Standard Federal 317 Gold Dome 317 First Tier Bank Omaha 327 First Atlanta 332 Bank One (Indianapolis) 332 First American Bank 339 PrimeRica Bank 342 NCMB/Nations Bank 387 Bank One 387 Lockheed Federal Credit Union 387 Santel Credit Union 388 First Signature Bank and Trust 388 Texas Independant Bank 401 Gary Wheaton Bank 413 Firstier Bank Lincoln 417 FirstUSA Bank 421 Indiana National Bank 428 Bank of Hoven 428 Bar Harbor Bank 428 Choice 436 Security Bank and Trust 443 Merill Lynch Bank/Trust 447 Ameritrust 452 Empire Affiliates Federal Credit Un. 452 Portland Teachers Credit Union 498 Republic Savings 502 CIBC 503 Canadien Imperial Bank 506 Belgium A.S.L.K. 510 Royal Bank of Canada 520 Toronto Dominion of Canada 537 Bank of Nova Scotia 538 Bank of Nova Scotia 539 Barclays 544 TSB Bank 556 Chase 556 Citibank 564 Bank of Queensland 610 Simmons First National 613 Cerstar 673 FCC National 673 First Card 707 Tompkins County Trust 719 Rocky Mountain 721 First Security 726 Wells Fargo 731 First Chicago 782 First Chicago 784 AT&T 800 MBNA North America 811 Bank of Hawaii 819 Macom Federal Credit Union 820 IBM Mid America Federal CU 833 U.S. Bank 842 Security Pacific (Washington) 897 Village Bank of Cincinnati 921 Hong Kong Bank 921 National Bank Mastercard (5) -------------------- 172 First Bank Card Center 191 Bank of Montreal 211 Chemical Bank 215 Marine Midland 217 Manufacturers Hanover Trust 217 Citizens First National (New Jersey) 217 Union Trust 224 Midland Bank 224 Nat. Westminster Bank (London) 230 Harris Trust & Savings Bank 232 Badische Beamtenbank (German) 233 Huntington Bank 239 Southeast Bank 242 Chevy Chase Federal Savings 254 Bank of America 258 National Bank of Canada 263 Chemical Bank 268 Canada Trust 273 Bank of America 286 First Card 286 FCC National 300 Bay Bank 308 Primerica 317 Norwest 323 Bank of New York 329 Maryland Bank NA 329 MBNA 333 Banc Ohio National Bank 351 Provident National Bank 353 Commonwealth Bank (Australia) 359 Core States 396 AT&T 398 AT&T Universal 402 Westpac Banking Corporation 410 Langley Federal Credit Union 410 Citibank Preferred 411 First Financial Bank of Omaha 414 State Street bank and Trust 415 Union Bank 416 Comerica 416 PeopleŐs Bank 416 USAA 417 AssociateŐs National Bank 417 Bank of New York 418 Household Bank (California) 418 Household Bank (Salinas) 420 Colonial National 422 Huntington National Bank 423 University Credit Union 424 Citibank 424 CBT 433 Household Bank 465 Chase Manhattan 678 Marine Midland IV. Maximum Expiration Date and Credit Limit (Group 3) The next group of numbers, the second group from the left is called Group 3. Group 3 holds the maximum expiration date and the maximum credit limit for that card. The credit card companies use this information in order to group certain customers. Everyone with a certain credit limit (low$ to high$) and a certain expiration date (lowmonth, lowyear to highmonth, highyear) has the same group three. Sometimes credit card companies use the Ňdiamond in the roughÓ method of grouping, by inserting high credit limit and gold cards between lowball cards. For example, letŐs hypothesize that 001 to 023 contains $500 limit cards. The next group, 024 to 031 could contain highball and gold cards, and immediately be followed by 032 to 045 which contain more $500 cards. V. Cardholder Identification (Groups 1 and 2) The last two groups of numbers, called Group 2 and Group 1 respectively, contain the personal identification of the cardholder. It is possible for two peopleŐs cards to have the same Group 4 and Group3, but not Group 2 and Group 1, since these numbers determine whose card the number belongs to. Once a carder becomes comfortable with the various credit cards he should be able to devise a system for generating new cards. A working knowledge of credit cards and some math skills are all one needs to devise a system. VI. Obtaining Credit Card Numbers There are many methods available in order to obtain a credit card number for your personal use. The oldest and dirtiest method of obtaining them is to go ŇtrashingÓ in dumpsters for used carbons or sales slips. I have never personally used this method as I hate to get dirty. A more reliable and considerably more cleanly method is to obtain them from a friend who works in a retail or hobby store. Ask that person to save the carbons or sales slips that are discarded and perchance give them to you. However, you will probably end up paying cash for these babies since only a fool would risk his job and clean record for free. If you work in a retail store, then great! Go to work and start collecting. A word to the wise: know the store inside and out. Find out as much as you can about store security and the security guards inside. Especially be on the lookout for cameras, if they spy you slipping numbers you are as good as dead. When obtaining numbers through this method, always ŇiceÓ the number. By ŇicingÓ, I mean wait it out for about a month before using the number. This leaves the trail cold for any law enforcement official trying to flush the perpetrator out. If you use it right away, they will backtrack through charges and visit the latest ones. Most receipts have the time, day, and register they were printed on. This easily fingers you as the culprit if the card is still hot. After a month, it becomes virtually impossible to trace any activity back to you. The hardest method of obtaining cards is inventing your own numbers. Only an experienced carder knows the formulas for doing this, and no, I am not going to inform you on how to accomplish this. Half the fun of carding is figuring out the formulas. Be patient, good things come to those who wait. VII. Verifying a Credit Card Number Now that you have a credit card number, you will want to know whether it is valid or not. A card can easily be verified if you have the means to do this (a telephone!). There are many services available in order to verify a cardŐs validity. I do not deal with American Express cards, they are too much of a pain in the ass. Stick with Visa, Mastercard, and Discover and you will be fine. I have the information for two services, one for Visa and Mastercard, and one for Discover. The first service is called National Data, and it deals with Visa and Mastercard numbers. You will need three things when calling National Data, the card number, a bank number, and a merchant number. When you call, they will answer with a short hello and then ask for your bank number followed by the merchant number. Next, you give them the card number and the expiration date (if you donŐt have one, use a date that is a few months ahead. This shouldnŐt matter since all the expiration date is used for is a binary checksum, 1=good or 0=bad) plus a small dollar amount ($50-$100) and a few seconds later a computerized voice will give you an approval code. Discard this code, you will not need it. ThatŐs it! If you received an approval code, the card is good. If not, the voice will tell you not to honor that card, meaning that it is bad. Keep in mind that the dollar amount you gave is deducted from that cardŐs total amount. The following is the information you will need in order to use National Data. National Data (Visa and Mastercard) ------------------------------------------------- Phone Number: 1-800-944-1111 Bank Number: 1169 Merchant Number: 762922 Verification for Discover cards runs just about the same way. The company I use is called Discover Card Services. The procedure is guided, the operator asks for all the information, you just have to provide it. They do not use a bank number, instead they use a merchant number that is similar to an actual card number. The following is all the information for calling and using Discover Card Services. Discover Card Services (Discover) ----------------------------------------------- Phone Number: 1-800-347-1111 Merchant Number: 6011-0164-4143-849 VIII. Ordering Merchandise You have now come to the hardest part of carding, the successful execution of an order. My advice to you is to find a smaller company when ordering stuff. Large companies are most likely linked to TRW or CBI, and they can instantly verify all credit card information. Most companies with an 800 number are linked to these services, but not all are. Just be sure you use plenty of caution when dealing with any company, get too cocky and you might just end up with your ass in the Federal slammer! The best companies to order from are the small ones without an 800 number, they only verify a card in order too see if it is valid and can pay for the amount to be charged. The first rule in carding is to ALWAYS USE A PAY PHONE. Never call from your house, and always be prepared to explain why you are not calling from home. Relax, let the art of bullshit flow from your mouth. The operator will sense when you are nervous or jumpy and will notify the proper authorities and kill the card. You will also need a drop site for the merchandise to be delivered to. An empty or abandoned house used to be good, however, UPS makes you sign for merchandise these days. Gone are the Ňput it in the bushesÓ days. Some companies will instruct UPS to leave packages no matter what if you request them to do so. Try this first, itŐs a hell of alot easier! If you do have access to an abandoned house (that doesnŐt look like a slum house) try to break in from the rear of the house the night before ordering. If you are successful, cover your tracks and place the order making sure you request next day air service. That night, enter the house again and camp out. Bring a flashlight, and be sure not to turn any lights on that might alert any neighbors. The package should arrive the next morning. Look presentable and answer the door when it comes. Act natural, the UPS guy just wantŐs your damn signature. Give it to him, grab the package, and close the door. Wait a few minutes and then make a graceful exit via the rear entrance. NEVER COME BACK TO THE ABANDONED HOUSE! Another method is to obtain a post office box, but this is considerably harder to do. If you attempt to do this, make sure you have fake identification and a very smooth story. If you do get one, make a couple of orders and then quit the post office, they will catch on rather quickly and soon the authorities will be waiting to chat with you. VIIII. Advice for Beginning Carders Greed is not good. Never become too zealous in ordering merchandise. DonŐt be a fool and try to order a Mac Quadra 900 that is fully loaded. If you cannot live unless you purchase a computer, order a portable (Mac or PC - itŐs your choice!), they are less expensive and draw less attention. Try to stay away from ordering too much computer stuff, authorities are on the lookout for computer hackers and phreaks that are tying to acquire some good stuff. Never brag to your friends about what you are doing, if the authorities come looking you could be up shit creek if Bobby down the street sings like a canary. Never card with more than two or three people, any more and things could get sticky. Never underestimate the authorities. They have an uncanny knack for busting people, probably because that is their job. Card enough, and you could be the subject of a major investigation. Needles to say, this is not good! Have fun, but play it safe. Nothing is worth going to jail and ruining your life over. Minors?! Bullshit. Never flaunt the fact that you are underage. They usually do not care and will still bust you and fuck your life over. Well, that about sums up my small text file on carding and credit engineering. I will be around for a long time, though I may have to take a small break (6 months - 1 year) for personal reasons. I will hopefully write more text files on other subjects, and I will do everything possible to keep this file updated from time to time. Jumping Jack Flash