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SparkFun Gets A Subpoena

sparkfun.com

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Re: SparkFun Gets A Subpoena

#3

Post by ChuckMcM »

Interesting take. The credit card skimming scams are coming fast and furious, they are easy money according to some folks. I have heard estimates at $2B/yr in the US in lost cash.

That being said, a subpoena can be 'quashed' if you can prove that the agency is over reaching or 'fishing' but if you refuse it you put yourself in a position to be held in contempt by the court.

Re: SparkFun Gets A Subpoena

#4

Post by jauer »

igorsyl wrote: post #2

Did Sparkfun send a representative to the court house? I'd be surprised if the court forced Sparkfun to show up and incur transportation and other related costs.

Having received subpoenas for other things, no. You provide the information to the requesting agency and they take it to court. I assume if you were going to refuse you'd have to have a lawyer show up.

Re: SparkFun Gets A Subpoena

#6

Post by K2h »

As a result, about 20 customers that had purchased a specific device at sparkfun that had delivery in Georgia had their information given to the police to use in this investigation.

I really want the people running the skim operation caught, but I agree with Nate (the sparkfun guy) that it is a very fine line harassing the others that are (most likely) blameless.

Am I reading this correctly that then these 20 people have their info in the public record after this trial closes? wow... not sure I'd want my name on that list.

At first I thought it was this[1] device, but on closer reading of the article it indicates a sparkfun silkscreen on a board, which I don't think the mag reader would have.

Has anyone figured out which board was in the offending device?

[1] http://www.sparkfun.com/products/8634

Re: SparkFun Gets A Subpoena

#7

Post by eck »

SparkFun is lucky that the subpoena was for one of their products being used in a credit card skimmer and not an improvised cruise missile.

Also, protip for criminals: make your own circuit boards without identifying marks.

Re: SparkFun Gets A Subpoena

#8

Post by rudiger »

I have a question. Are companies required to hold certain information about their customers? Or can a company simply answer a subpoena with "We don't store that information."?

Re: SparkFun Gets A Subpoena

#9

Post by MBCook »

K2h wrote: post #6

As a result, about 20 customers that had purchased a specific device at sparkfun that had delivery in Georgia had their information given to the police to use in this investigation. I really want the people running the skim operation caught, but I agree with Nate (the sparkfun guy) that it is a very fine line harassing the others that are (most likely) blameless. Am I reading this correctly that then these 20 people…

I'm all for helping the police, I'd be pretty willing to give them information in a case like this.

But I'm amazed their initial subpoena was for ALL orders from Georgia for a multi-month period. That's an amazingly wide net.

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