Which group is primarily involved in the Bust-Out Card Fraud scheme?

In the context of Bust-Out Card Fraud, the group that is primarily involved consists of merchants and Independent Sales Organizations (ISOs) collaborating with each other to execute fraudulent schemes. In this type of fraud, perpetrators typically open accounts at various merchants using stolen identities and make significant purchases before absconding without paying, effectively “busting out” the card.

The collaboration between merchants and ISOs is crucial because it allows those engaged in the fraud to exploit the systems in place for processing debit and credit card transactions. Merchants may be complicit, knowingly or unknowingly, in these fraudulent activities as they provide the venue for the initial transactions. The ISOs, which process transactions for merchants, can also play a role in facilitating these fraudulent activities through their connections and transaction processing capabilities.

This internal collaboration is a fundamental characteristic of Bust-Out Card Fraud, differentiating it from other forms of fraud that might involve just individual consumers or external entities like government agencies or non-profits. These entities play different roles in the financial ecosystem but are not central to the execution of such specific fraud schemes.