Phisher Tales in Chat Rooms

Lee Gomes wrote a quite interessting story about How Webs of Scammers Pull Off Internet Fraud on The Wallstreet Journal Online:

A phisher, just like his spammer cousin, sends out hundreds of thousands or even millions of emails, knowing that only a tiny fraction of the recipients will respond. These responses vary in quality; the best is a "full," which includes everything about the victim, such as name, account number, PIN and mother's maiden name.

But even if a phisher has a "full," the real work has yet to begin. The goal of most phishers is to use the information they glean to withdraw money from your bank account. Western Union is one way. Another is making a fake ATM card using a blank credit card and a special magnetic stripe reader/writer, which is easy to purchase online.