Since 1998, Basin Street Records has been signing and promoting some of the best musical talent from New Orleans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Kermit Ruffins was our first artist,” said Braden Piper, Director of Operations. “We\u2019ve also got Rebirth Brass Band, Jason Marsalis, and many more.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Known for pushing the unique sounds of New Orleans throughout the city and beyond, Basin Street Records has become a local institution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really a dream job,\u201d Piper said. \u201cI\u2019ve loved New Orleans music since I was a kid\u2014even though I\u2019m not from here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A big part of Piper\u2019s job is making sure Basin Street Records\u2019 music is accessible everywhere\u2014from live performances at JazzFest to vinyl records and digital downloads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But last Wednesday, Piper and his team woke up to an alarming situation: a flood of online orders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere was unusual activity on our website,\u201d Piper recalled. \u201cThousands of orders were coming in every few seconds.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even stranger, the orders were all for the same inexpensive item\u2014a digital song download. After investigating, Piper discovered it was a scam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“It turned out to be a credit card testing scam,” he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scammers had used thousands of stolen credit card numbers to make small purchases. If the transaction went through, they knew they had a valid card they could exploit for larger charges later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey get a small charge to go through, and then they\u2019ll hit the account for a larger amount,\u201d said Matt Malone, a cybersecurity expert with Vistrada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Malone explained that scammers rely on victims not noticing the small, seemingly insignificant charges on their stolen cards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDiligence is key,\u201d he said. \u201cWe used to track our finances on paper ledgers, but now it\u2019s all electronic. If you don\u2019t stay on top of where your money is going, it could be going straight into a scammer\u2019s pocket.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fortunately, Basin Street Records was able to refund the charges on the handful of cards that were successfully processed. Piper and his team also quickly implemented additional security measures on their website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“It\u2019s part of running an e-commerce site,” Piper said. “It\u2019s a risk for anyone selling something online. This could happen to anyone.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Malone recommended that online stores install CAPTCHA to help prevent fraudulent activity. He also urged consumers to monitor their transactions closely and take advantage of credit monitoring services whenever possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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