Ron Paul Campaign Supporters Possibly Stealing Credit Card Numbers to Boost Fundraising???
“I told them this doesn’t make any sense, because this isn’t a credit card, it’s a check card, and I’ve got plenty of money in there, so what’s the problem?” Ruffino said.
A customer service representative for her bank informed her of a suspicious charge.
The bank representative explained that someone by the name of Ron Paul has been trying to take $5 out of the aforementioned account.
Identity theft usually works this way: Thieves gather up stolen credit card numbers online and run the test charges to see which numbers will work. If the charge goes through, they know they have an active card. Later, the hit the card for more money. It appears that is what happened here.
Representatives for the Ron Paul campaign said they have discovered more than a dozen mysterious $5 contributions in the past three days and said they’re working with banks to return the money.
A representative for the Texas Attorney General’s Office on Friday said these crimes are rarely prosecuted, because by the time thieves are tracked down, they’re often in other counties, and the Web sites are shut down.
We know that there have been campaign contribution improprieties in other campaigns, but those incidents usually involved one large donor. This situation suggests that the Ron Paul campaign cannot be trusted with credit card security or donations from small donors, and appears to be the first time this issue has come up in any political campaign among any of the current presidential candidates.
In the mean time, you may want to think twice before giving your credit card information to the Ron Paul campaign.
Posted on November 5, 2007, in 2008 Presidential Election, Abuse of Power, Conservatives, Corruption, Law, Politics, Republican Party and tagged campaign fraud, campaign fund fraud, credit card theft, Ron Paul, Ron Paul campaign admits stolen credit cards found, Ron Paul criminal activity, Ron Paul identity theft. Bookmark the permalink. 50 Comments.
Shadow Democracy 
“a dozen mysterious $5”
So, like $60.00 total?
Andd it was used by theives at the Paul site to test the cards, not abything done by the campaign itself, why should that make anyone “think twice before giving your credit card information to the Ron Paul campaign”? that doesn’t make sense…
hahahahahahahaha
So… bogus test charges were detected *by the Ron Paul campaign* and this is a reason not to trust them? I realize you guys have some pretty stark political differences with Paul, but now you’re being silly.
For what it’s worth, I expect an unscrupulous campaign would do what Lyndon Larouche did: as soon as someone submits a credit card donation (whatever amount), just falsify the amount to something much larger. I believe that this is what they eventually sent him to the federal pen for.
12 * 5 = 60. Thats right, sixty dollars. Your gonna have to do better than that, Paul has raised over a million dollars just today, and from voluntary donations.
Remember, remember the fifth of November!
Is this post meant to be funny? The first sentence is a complete lie.
To Ron Paul Internet Zeolots,
Just reporting what’s going on out there. The Ron Paul campaign discovered the I.D. theft. I’m merely asking if it is possible that people are getting set-up for larger theft and if anyone close to the Ron Paul campaign or his supporters are responsible?
I can’t believe I just wasted 53 seconds of my life reading this.
Matt Letten…
hahahahahahahaha
jmklein…
Are there candidates raising involuntary donations as opposed to voluntary donations?
Curtis…
Never seen a sensational headline before? I remember seeing a headline not long ago that said “Mission accomplished”…
I guess someone stole a lot of those credit cards today, 2 million raised so far…
Remember, Remember, the 5th of November.
You state that “The Ron Paul campaign said they have discovered more than a dozen mysterious $5 contributions in the past three days”. Yet your title is a rather blunt accusation that the Ron Paul campaign are the ones stealing people’s credit cards.
Why mislead, Matthew?
It is clearly someone outside the Ron Paul campaign doing this to get him bad press. Only the neocons are dim witted enough to buy into junk articles and poor logic like this sorry attempt.
Seriously, Mission Accomplished!
Time to change America and vote for Ron Paul. We can be a great nation again. Other countries are watching this closely. Ron Paul has world wide support. I know our media has dumbed Americans down to humiliating levels but we can change our path and restore America.
Love to watch Ron Paul’s ticker today! His donations are coming in fast and furious. People are waking up to the revolution. I guess he did not need that $60.00 in stolen money after all…?
To Matthew J. Podoba…….no you’re not “merely asking” anything. You’re making an accusation of fraud but sliming out of it by putting a question mark at the end. This is sleazy even for someone at a craphole website like this.
Great link to a better article that addresses this issue
http://www.gambling911.com/Ron-Paul-110507.html
VAT
Who is “misleading” anyone? I merely digested a story from the net and asked a relevent question. Only someone inside or very close to Ron Paul’s campaign could supply these numbers. A donor contributed and then her number was stolen. That seems quite fantastic don’t you think? By the way, I don’t care if it’s $1.00, it is illegal and sends the wrong message. A political contributor’s credit card number was stolen…A CONTRIBUTOR! Funny how she contributed and then her number got swiped?
You’re trying to provoke them, aren’t you?
I’m not a Paul supporter — in fact, I’m rather a critic of him — but the truth of that story is that ID thieves were using the Paul web site to check their cards … and it was the Ron Paul campaign that found the problem and reported it.
I’m certainly no criminal mastermind, but I’m pretty sure that “Don’t report yourself” is somewhere is the top ten tips on how to commit crime effectively.
http://www.kxan.com/Global/story.asp?S=7305398
The story has a pretty shameless headline, but even the first sentence says that this is increasingly common, and what it leaves out is that probably every Presidential campaign with any money has been used.
I’m guessing that you knew this, and deliberately wanted to stir up the hornets’ nest by taking a shot at Ron Paul.
Especially since you left out the first line of the article when you snagged it from FR.
Sigh … at least we’re keeping the conversation at a respectful and respectable level, right?
Your title was misleading. If you can not understand that then perhaps you should rethink blogging? It is a simple concept.
You clearly do not understand credit card theft, either. It does not have to be ran from someone from inside the campaign. Please, read about credit card theft and what a “test charge” is. Educate yourself before you pass on flawed information.
Your logic and lack of knowledge is damaging your credibility. Perhaps you just write and make these comments for your own amusement?
wickle,
We publish digested stories all the time as do a half million other blogs on the Internet. The source and accuracy of the story was verified and it was posted. I see nothing wrong with that.
Headline shameless in what way? Was money not stolen? Did the money not go to Ron Paul’s campaign? Over 95% of all identity theft in any large organization is the work of insiders. Surely you must know that. I am an IT professional in the area of networking and network security. I can assure you this is the case.
You can presume anything you like, the fact of the matter is, the content of the story is true and it needs to be reported to protect innocent people. I’m sorry you disagree with what you interpret as selffish motives.
It’s not like we labeled the guy a crack addict or something.
Hey guys, outstanding job spreading completely irrational fear and completely baseless accusations!
Awesome job!
This is the most miserable bit of online journalism I have EVER SEEN. So the Ron Paul campaign reports people using the credit checks for fraudulent purposes, and you accuse the campaign of fraud. And then, you discourage people from donating to them! You are disgusting. Absolutely disgusting.
Either that or the dumbest blogger on the internet.
The reason I deem the headline shameless is that it misleads — and I would argue that it does so deliberately.
Let’s consider what it would look like if the headline read, “Ron Paul Campaign Reports ID Theft.” Instead of making it look like someone from the campaign is trying to steal the credit cards, it suddenly looks like the campaign caught the fraud and reported it.
That’s a very different take, and probably closer to the actual truth of the matter.
As written, the headline presents the idea that ID thieves support Ron Paul. I would argue that the original headline was irresponsible, especially given the common knowledge that many people only read headlines.
I’d actually prefer “ID Thieves Use Campaign Web Sites to Test Stolen Credit Cards,” but that’s just me.
I guess I’m not sure how closely connected to credit card theft network security is, but if we’re playing the credentials game — I’ve got seven years in banking and three actual ID theft investigations under my belt. (Including one in which we helped a guy prosecute his own son … really not a happy case …)
I expect that the Paul campaign had nothing to do with this. Partly because you don’t want everyone looking at you when the theft happens.
Were these cards ones that had previously been used for Ron Paul donations, and they were being used over and over again, it would be far more likely that there’s an insider.
In fact, this is a common way for thieves to test a card before trying for the big purchases. Toss out a couple dollars in a donation, and you know that you have a live card.
As I understand it, these cards are not ones that have been used for legitimate Ron Paul contributions before the theft occurred.
And, yes, I know that you’re presenting “digested” news (refraining from the obvious joke …). It’s the same thing that I do on my blog … but commenting on factual accuracy is a valid response to that.
Honestly, I was sure you were just trying to play with the Ron Paul supporters.
lmao crap like this makes me appreciate the little bit of integrity the mainstream media still has.
This writeup has none.
Matthew Podoba, sounds like YOU’re the conspiracy nut here…
Jeez, what will the anti-Pauls stoop to next?
the reason it is a big deal is because it has started. This is early on therefore just the beginning of the scandal. But it was caught early, unlike most.
I’m sorry its just funny to see everyone backing up Ron Paul. Some have valid arguments, most are making excuses or trying to find holes that don’t exist haha
A Ron Paul supporter independently set up his own website and announced January 5th to be the day supporters drop a “money bomb” on RP’s campaign site. In a 24 hours the guy had collected OVER four million dollars from more than 35,000 voluntary donors.
Now THAT is something to write about: Some guy just set a world record for internet donations. I just checked the website again – it’s 2:00 in the morning – and he’s already raised another $100K.
Ron Paul is THE most honest man in Congress. He won’t even take advantage of the lucrative Congressional pension program and every year he donates money to bring down the deficit. This is WHY his supporters are so passionate about his run for the presidency. Odds are excellent that his campaigners are as honest as he is, because honesty is what they all value.
It’s ironic that you unfairly smeared Ron Paul’s campaigners over $60 in charges THEY reported and returned during the same timeframe that 35,000 near strangers just up and gave Ron Paul $4 mil.
This post was a low blow. But people who unfairly abuse this man and his campaign tend to find out pretty quickly that blowback is a bitch.
The Hedonistic Pleasureseeker
Blow back is a bitch? Is that some kind of a threat?
To The Ron Paul Disciples,
WILL YOU PEOPLE GIVE ME A BREAK? IDENTITY THIEVES STOLE MONEY AND DONATED IT TO THE RON PAUL CAMPAIGN!!! THEY DIDN”T DONATE IT TO THE RED CROSS, THEY DIDN’T DONATE IT TO CHARITY AND THEY DIDN’T DONATE IT TO TOYS FOR TOTS!!! IT IS NOT A VERY LONG STRETCH TO SUGGEST THAT SOMEONE CLOSE TO OR THAT SUPPORTS RON PAUL POSSIBLY STOLE CREDIT CARD INFO EXPLICITLY FOR THAT PURPOSE!!!!!! NOTICE THE WORD (POSSIBLY). IF THESE WERE JUST SOME RUN-OF-THE-MILL SCUMBAGS, WHY NOT KEEP THE MONEY? WHY TAKE A CHANCE WITH SUCH A HIGH PROFILE DONATION? WHY OPEN YOURSELF UP TO THAT KIND OF ATTENTION? I AM MERELY TRYING TO WARN PEOPLE NOT TO GIVE THEIR MONEY TO A PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN THAT DOESN’T HAVE A TIGHT HANDLE ON CREDIT CARD TRANSACTION SEUCURITY! WHAT PREVENTS THESE PEOPLE, WHOEVER THEY ARE, FROM STEALING HUNDREDS OR THOUSANDS? WHY ARE THESE CRIMINALS TRYING TO HELP RON PAUL? IT IS A VALID QUESTION NO MATTER HOW BADLY YOU TRY TO BEAT THIS POST UP.
? If this is even true you title doesn’t reflect what went on. According to your story the Ron Paul campaign found $60 of fraudulent charges and they did the right thing. Matt – you are grasping at straws.
I don’t even believe that it happened. And apparently no one else does either. The campaign brought in over 4.3 million dollars since yesterday morning (12:00 AM eastern time) until now!
Red Cross ID theft:
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9000754
I assume that you will now libel the entire Red Cross?
This will be the last time I check this. Clearly, you’re just riling up the Ron Paul supporters and not remotely interested in the facts of the story, else you’d acknowledge that the cards were stolen separately, not from legitimate Paul donors.
Have fun. I would encourage everyone else to leave this troll alone rather than beating your head against this wall.
Matt,
One would have to assume that if in fact the Ron Paul campaign was attempting to boost their donations using credit card fraud, why would they be working on returning the money to the people whos credit cards got compromised?
As someone who works in an industry that accepts credit card payments online, and as someone that sees a good number fraudulent credit card payment attempts per day, I can honestly tell you that you have it all wrong.
Of course, I can see how Ron Paul and his stances would scare people that have accepted big government and the nanny state as being the norm. Im shocked that due to the nature of your website that you would even consider Dr. Paul as being on the same corrupt ground as HillBaRudy McRomney.
BTW, I would remove that first sentence because there is no proof that anyone within Dr. Paul’s campaign is doing this and for you to say so equate to libel and defamation on your part.
Do the right thing and look at how fallacious this accusation really is.
There is no proof that Ron Paul is involved and you do not have to be “close” to the campaign to sue the website to donate. Actually if you are not “close” to the campaign its not a stretch that you could use donations to discredit the campaign.
This article is crying out for a lawsuit. This is just a dirty trick, I wonder what other campaign Mathew is involved in? Ron Paul should just sue his ass, so he finds out that making unfounded claims that damage others as a shill for some other campaign will result in him giving deed on this house to the people he slanders.
Keep going Mathew, I want to see you go down……
Maybe the one making the wild claims about the credit cards is actually the one running the charges?
Is this website some sort of gatekeeping operation.
Nice lies on this blog.
This article is a mess of contradictions and illogical conclusions.
First, this article says that the Ron Paul campaign or those close to it are using stolen credit cards to finance itself.
Then, it contradicts itself by stating that the credit card numbers were actually used by thieves, outside of the campaign, to test whether a credit card number was still valid.
When the Ron Paul campaign was informed of this it said that it was working with the credit card companies to reverse the charges where necessary.
Yet, the article seems to indicate that Ron Paul can’t be trusted despite the fact that they did not cause this situation and that they are actively attempted to right it. Unbelievable.
What a biased bunch of crap! Number one, if a campaign was going to steal money from people, don’t you think it would make it worth their while and take a little more than $60? Its obvious that someone set up this unscrupulous situation with the sole purpose of discrediting Ron Paul’s campaign.
Also, I see no mention of of Hillary’s millions that mysteriously manifest from some of the poorest neighborhoods in the country. No mention of the millions she has had to return just to save face. But Ron Paul’s $60 is enough to call him untrustworthy.
Talk about unobjective.
LOL!!! You sir are pathetic. Credit Card fraud has occurred with other campaigns and has occurred with any service on the web.
You do not make any sense- as if the campaign will steal money from donors. As if they will track my credit card information- gimme a break!!!
Lame!!!
Go find some else better to do with your time.
You suck at blogging!
haha… 60 frickin dollars. If there were 1000’s of dollars flowing into the Ron Paul campaign from Identity Theft, that would be worth writing about… I’ve read this to several friends. All have responded with the same question: “$60? That’s it?” And Paul is making sure the money is returned. This is a ridiculous article- a smear piece and nothing more.
Matthew,
If what you’re suggesting is indeed true (that Ron Paul campaigners are using criminal activities to donate to their own campaign), then investigate the actual crime. A few simple questions could quickly prove or disprove your assumptions.
Did any of the victims get charged more than $5 from the Ron Paul campaign. Did the victims get charges from any other company/service unrelated to Ron Paul? What was the percentage of funds charged on the stolen credit cards by the Ron Paul campaign compared to the other fraudulent charges on the cards?
If the answer is No and Yes, wouldn’t that prove the criminals’ intent wasn’t to donate to the campaign, but rather to test the cards on a real-time transactional website that allowed them to specify charge amounts? And wouldn’t a criminal want to test on a website that they weren’t affiliated with in any way, shape or form? And on a website that processes thousands of transactions in a single day?
I think the real story here should have been where did the identity theft originate from? Clearly the credit card numbers were stolen from somewhere. That is where the security breach happened, and where your disdain (as a self-proclaimed IT security professional) should be placed. Otherwise you should be upset at every other company/organization/service that legally placed charges on an illegally used credit card.
Your slant appears purposeful, but I assume you didn’t meant it as such. Do yourself and your readers some justice and just take 30 minutes to investigate your theories further before starting on a path towards defamation.
wickle,
In no way did I accuse Ron Paul of stealing money, only that credit card number theft has been discovered close to his campaign. I printed that his own campaign discovered the theft and was working to correct the problem did I not?
The headline was only written to encourage debate. No one is trying to defame Ron Paul. Credit card theft and shady donations tactics have surfaced twice in the Clinton campaign over the past few months as well (of course on a different level). I don’t want to see anyone get swindled whether it is for $5.00 of $5000.00. I only report what is out there and offer opinion. Take it or leave it. If you support Ron paul and choose to leave it, so be it. I understand completely. Maybe a further investigation is warranted, as some people in this thread suggest. Call me as many names as you like. You only serve to reinforce the wide spread reputation Ron Paul supporters have as being vicious on comment threads.
Trey Sugg,
Maybe so. But what if they were setting this up for a larger haul at some later date? It happens you know. I ask you this, could it possibly be that it was Ron Paul zealots donating this money to the Ron Paul campaign instead of people trying to smear him? Do you have any proof that it was a smear tatic.? I’ll answer that for you…no you do not. We’re only trying to encourage discussion here. Nothing more.
Investigate_Please,
I’m not suggesting anything. It is fact that stolen credit cards were used to contribute money to Ron paul’s campaign. Maybe you should investigate it further. Blogs are for opinion, not investigative journalism. Sorry.
Ken,
Credit card fraud has occured with other campaigns as I clearly cite in this post. Thanks for paying attention.
litcigar,
Pay attention.
The post absolutely does not say stolen credit cards were used to finance Ron Paul’s campaign. It says stolen credit cards were used to allegedly donate money to the Ron Paul campaign and that the money was discovered and being returned.
Also, if you had any first-hand knowledge of identity theft, and as a network professional I do, I’ll have you know that “test charges” are a very common tactic.
I am telling anyone who is contributing to Ron Paul or any other campaign to be careful. There is no harm in that. Sorry it offends so.
Patrick,
I am not affiliated with any campaign and I am not a credit card thief as you suggest, nor did I accuse Ron Paul of being a credit card thief. I merely stated that people close to Ron Paul campaign or maybe even within it may be stealing credit card information. The key word here is “may.” There is no proof either way, nor did I manufacture any. The word “possibly” in the title of the post and ensuing question marks clearly indicate that no definitive accusations are being leveled here against Ron Paul. No specific person here was named explicitly as a thief. Give it up.
Did money from stolen cards not get donated to the Ron Paul campaign? Am I not allowed to draw conclusions based on those facts and state an opinion? Did I not state in the post that his staff was doing what should be done after discovering the stolen cards, and refunding the money?
I am merely letting people know to be careful with their credit cards. That is all.
12 charges for $5/each and the best headline you can come up with is:
Ron Paul is stealing credit card numbers to boost fundraising?
You are letting people know they should steer clear of the Ron Paul campaign. You’re hunting for traffic or have another agenda.
“Proof has surfaced that the Ron Paul campaign, or people close to it, is resorting to some unsrupulous tactics to raise money.”
That statement of yours is not a “suggestion”, it is stated as fact and you fail to provide any basis for what is such a blatant lie on its face. I’m sitting here incredulously wondering why I’m even taking the time to respond to this idiocy.
If for no other reason, coupled with my anger felt over such malicious propaganda, the following link might help you to understand the force driving my fingers at this moment:
I HAVE A SECRET MESSAGE:
http://egocentral.invisionzone.com/index.php?showtopic=18141&st=0
As for campaign donations to Ron Paul, I want the public to know that I, my mother, my sister, and three of her associates made a total contribution of THOUSANDS of dollars using our bank debit cards on November 5th, 2007 online at Ron Paul’s campaign website and OUR ACCOUNTS ARE IN PROPER ORDER.
Shame on you Mr. Podoba!
“Proof has surfaced that the Ron Paul campaign, or people close to it, is resorting to some unsrupulous tactics to raise money.”
I just want to point out that the above quote is from your original post above, and I see that you have changed it since my previous post pointing out the enormous inaccuracy of that claim.
Ha ~ Something else I noticed, the date of that KXAN.com article:
“Identity Thieves Contribute To Ron Paul Presidential Fund
Updated: Nov 3, 2007 12:15 AM”
That’s quite funny that this “report” was released within 48 hours prior to the 5th of November fund raising event, and despite this malicious attempt to deter supporters from making donations, the Ron Paul campaign received over $4.2 MILLION DOLLARS on that day. I wonder if the media / politicians / propagandists are beginning to understand that the number of people who have awakened from their formerly deep slumber is growing rapidly and they are now seeing the lies, deceit, manipulation and smear tactics that have inoculated so many for so long in this country against the truth.
“WILL YOU PEOPLE GIVE ME A BREAK? IDENTITY THIEVES STOLE MONEY AND DONATED IT TO THE RON PAUL CAMPAIGN!!! THEY DIDN”T DONATE IT TO THE RED CROSS, THEY DIDN’T DONATE IT TO CHARITY AND THEY DIDN’T DONATE IT TO TOYS FOR TOTS!!! IT IS NOT A VERY LONG STRETCH TO SUGGEST THAT SOMEONE CLOSE TO OR THAT SUPPORTS RON PAUL POSSIBLY STOLE CREDIT CARD INFO EXPLICITLY FOR THAT PURPOSE!!!!!! NOTICE THE WORD (POSSIBLY). IF THESE WERE JUST SOME RUN-OF-THE-MILL SCUMBAGS, WHY NOT KEEP THE MONEY? WHY TAKE A CHANCE WITH SUCH A HIGH PROFILE DONATION? WHY OPEN YOURSELF UP TO THAT KIND OF ATTENTION?”
Actually, Parker, not only is it a stretch, it’s actually quite sleazy. Not that that’s not business as usual here. The application of a little logic will show us is that it’s not only a reach, but it’s either dishonest or stupid (I’m open to your use of the idiot defense). I suppose, if you’d done more than read the headlines and scan the stories, you might have seen the admission that what happened here isn’t uncommon. KXAN didn’t even withhold the vital information until the tail end, the information was right there in the seventh paragraph (though by that time you’d no doubt been reading for an hour and were quite wearied by the effort).
The obvious reason for checking the status of credit cards through campaign websites is that it’s one of the easiest ways to hide the charge. Large numbers of contributors, small amounts of cash, it’s the most likely charge to be missed by both the recipient and the victim. I imagine that PayPal, the iTunes Music Store and other such services experience similar fraud.
Now to why it’s a gigantic stretch for someone close to the campaign to be the perpetrator. Theoretically, using your scenario, someone would have had to make a donation, in which case the criminal would already know whether or not the card was good.
“AHA!!! BUT WHAT IF THEY STOLE THE CARD, WHAT THEN!!! HUH??? HUH???”
Well, in that case, if they were campaign workers, why swipe the card someplace where it would be easily traceable back to them? Why not contribute to someone like, say, Hillary? Oh, right, I forgot. Those sinister Ron Paul workers are evil geniuses that are strangely too stupid to take simple precautions to cover their tracks. Unfortunately for America, stoopidity (sic) never sleeps.
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