tonight on "nightline," buyer beware. tis the season for credit card fraud. so, we'll tell you if it's safer to use plastic online or in the store. and reveal the shocking truth about those gift cards you're buying. lessons, straight from the top secret bunker where see is a is monitoring every purchase this week. flyer beware. today's new rules are supposed to fix a rampant problem of pie loments at the helm with little or sometimes no sleep. but some critics are still plenty worried. tonight, the latest in the year-long "nightline" investigation on whether the skies are any safer this season. and trash mobs. it is the kind of holiday crowd you really want to avoid. teens hell bent on destroying the local mall, all for 15

minutes of youtube fame. >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," december 21st , 2011. >> good evening, i'm bill weir. it's a move many perfect this time of year. the old credit card swipe. turning over a mountain of financial details with a flick of a wrist. and to keep you swiping, and their bottom line growing, credit card companies have to maintain your trust. trust that they are smarter than any hacker, fisher or sketchy clerk. and to that end, visa gave us an unprecedented glimpse into their fortress of security. and a few tips to stay one step away of the crooks. here's abc's cecilia vega. >> reporter: tis the season for credit card fraud. for all kinds of people, to find all kinds of ways to steal your

credit and spend it. last year, about 8 million americans were victims. almost half of those due to stolen credit information. and it doesn't end there. you might not realize it, but one of the cards most vulnerable to credit threat are those gift cards everyone loves to give and get. thieves find them easy to steal and it is entirely possible that when the recipient goes to use the gift card you've given, there won't be any money left on it. >> when they see a gift card on a display, what they will do is, they can skim the information off of the bag of the magnetic strip and once they do that, they have enough information about that card that they can go ahead and place an order over the internet or even over the phone. they can clone that card and use it at any retailer. >> reporter: and while most of us believe that online shopping makes us more susceptible to fraud, we learned that using cards in stores is actually a greater risk. >> in general, you're more protected using a credit card on the internet, where as when you

walk into a brick and mortar retailer, you are handing that credit card to a human. humans steal. so, when you hand it to them, they can skim the information off that card and use out for fraudulent activities. >> reporter: if you're worried, so are the credit card companies. and so "nightline" gained first-time ever access to a top secret facility where one company, visa, has been watching every single swipe getting made this holiday season. >> i'm here to see what's you've got behind the doors here. >> reporter: a facility so top secret it doesn't appear on google maps and we're not allowed to tell you where it is. i had to pass through more security here than i do when i'm covering the white house. >> and it has motion sensors, cameras and everything else in there. >> reporter: should i be nervous? >> i wouldn't be. >> reporter: mike is visa's global head of technology. he takes me through the first line of defense. what visa calls the man trap.

no one makes it through without a special badge and a fingerprint to match. that's because what lies on the other side is a hacker's dream and an identity theft victim's nightmare. and the heart of one of the country's largest credit card companies is revealed. how many transactions are going on right now as we speak? >> just almost 8,000 transactions a second. >> reporter: and that's globally. and they all come through here? >> they all come through this data center. >> reporter: employees spend their days watching everything from the news to the weather, looking for any glitch, any abnormality that could bring it all crashing down. hence the need for man trap number two. a concrete room with motion detectors a camera on the ceiling that leads handwriting on paper. it even has radio frequencies that can catch anyone trying to bring in a forbidden cell phone. and what happens?

>> you won't be getting out. >> reporter: there are enough cables inside to stretch all the way from maine to key west. and remember that credit card swipe? before it is even done, before you walk out with your purchase, the transactions are routed into this room. when i swipe my credit card and i'm buying that cup of coffee, this is where that goes so that i'm getting charged for it? >> one of the areas where it comes through, so we can actually send to the stakeholders the information they need to handle their clients. >> reporter: there are a lot of eyes watching. >> in the exterior, there's 400 cameras. interior, i'll keep that to myself. >> reporter: more than 400? >> a lot. >> reporter: the building is strong enough to withstand a major earthquake or a or ttorna. it has its own water treatment system and generating enough power to support 25,000 homes. you've got a moat. >> yes. >> reporter: multiple player l

fences to keep people out. i saw cameras every five feet. there are security guards. you are not getting in here. is this necessary? >> yes, it is necessary. it is necessary to keep your transactions safe and secure. >> reporter: the power goes batteries kick in, generators after that. and so far, so good. human or otherwise, nothing has managed to put a dent in visa's armor. >> it is something that we want to make sure that you don't have to think about as you are using that card. you know that card is safe and securi secure. >> reporter: the average shopper should still know how to keep their plastic protected. so, we asked identity theft expert robert siciliano for some tips. for those last-minute gift cards? >> if you buy gift cards, i recommend buying them at, say, a mall kiosk, where one person behind that counter is responsible for administering that card. >> reporter: when using your own plastic? >> you have to pay very close attention to your credit card

statement and refute any unauthorized charges within 60 days. >> reporter: and when shopping online? >> the most important thing to do is to make sure the website they are using is a secure one. in the address bar where it says http, it should say https, that means it's a secure site. >> reporter: and if all else fails, contact your credit card company. just don't expect to get through the front doors. for "nightline," i'm cecilia vega, reporting, well, like i said, i can't tell you where. >> our thanks to cecilia, wherever you are. and just ahead, travelers take to the skies, where the question should be, do you know where your pilot slept last night? [ knock on door ] cool. you found it. wow. nice place. yeah. [ chuckles ] the family thinks i'm out shipping these. smooth move. you used priority mail flat rate boxes.

if it fits, it ships for a low, flat rate. paid for postage online and arranged a free pickup. and i'm gonna track them online, too. nice. between those boxes and this place, i'm totally staying sane this year. do i smell snickerdoodles? maybe. [ timer dings ] got to go. priority mail flat rate shipping at usps.com. a simpler way to ship. ♪ good day sunshine ♪ good day sunshine

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>> announcer: "nightline" continues from new york city with bill weir. >> at the very top of the list of people in life we'd prefer stay as well rested as possible are pilots. few appreciate just how hard they work or how far many of them commute to get behind the stick and get you to where you're going. but a year-long undercover "nightline" probe found some sobering revelations that may give you pause the next time you board. tonight, abc's brian ross investigating. brian? >> reporter: bill, for many airline pilots, the hardest part of the job is staying awake. fatigue is the dirty little secret of the airline industry. and today, the federal government announced new rules to deal with the issue. but many say they fall far short of solving a problem exposed in an abc news investigation earlier this year. a night flight over washington, d.c., seen from the cockpit of a

jet airplane. it's no time for a pilot to be struggling to stay away, but all too often, that is the case. >> there's a code for it. one pilot will reach over to the other and say, hey, listen, i'm going to examine the overhead panel for a little while. >> reporter: it's the result of a system in which poorly paid pilots report to duty hundreds or thousands of miles from home and have to scrounge at night for a place to sleep. ending up in secretive so-called crash pads, as seen in this abc news undercover video. stacks of bunk beds in a crowded house just blocks from laguardia airport in new york city. or even worse, spending the night in airline crew lounges, as seen in these pictures, taken by a pilot for abc news. raising the veil on the secret life of airline pilots. a symptom of a very serious industry-wide problem. >> it is a big concern. it matters. our passengers deserve better. >> reporter: in 2009, a

continental regional jet from newark, operated by colgan air, crashed on approach to buffalo, killing 50 people. neither the pilot nor the first officeer slept in a bed the night before the flight. they had commuted to newark from florida and washington state. yawns could be heard on the cockpit voice recorder. >> we had a captain who had actually been overnighting in the crew lounge at newark airport for two of the previous three nights. >> reporter: today's new fatigue rules from the faa are meant to prevent just such accidents. >> this new rule will afford pilots the opportunity to get eight hours of uninterrupted sleep before a flight. >> reporter: the rules will also reduce the number of on-duty hours for a pilot, but only from a maximum of 16 hours a day to 14 hours a day. >> i'm very distressed at the new rules, because they did not go far enough and in fact, they

bear the earmarks of an industry that's been whining and we needed more teeth in these rules. >> reporter: and many, including the national transportation safety board, say the new rules fall substantially short of dealing with the problems of commuting pilots. younger, less well-paid pilots end up sleeping in those crash pads. >> it was never really good sleep. >> reporter: former pilot josh verde says he was one of those pilots, forced to sleep in crash pads when he commuted for florida for flights based out of newark airport. >> you would have people coming in and out. i happened to have a bunk mate that snored louder than anyone i've heard in my life. >> reporter: verde says while the airlines provide rooms during a trip, it's the night before where pilots are scrambling for a place to sleep. >> they are aware of what's going on and they just sort of say, you know, figure it out. >> reporter: and many pilots can't afford the $25 a night for a crash pad, so, they end up behind the locked doors of the

airport, where the public can't see them, spending the night in the airline's crew lounges. critics say the new faa rules will not solve the problem. >> that danger is still there. the new rules do not stop the danger of commuting pilots. >> reporter: the faa says the new rules require the airlines to recognize the problem, but puts the responsibility on the pilots to certify that they are fit for duty. >> and if a pilot reports that he or she is fatigued, then the airline must remove the pilot from duty. >> reporter: but former commuting pilots including josh verde says that won't work, but pilots may be punished if they try to report their fatigue. >> without actual protection by the faa in the rules for pilots who call in fatigued, you're going to see that at airlines across the country. >> reporter: all of this is deep lip disturbing to the families of the 50 people who died in the continental express flight, 3407. some were in the audience today as the faa announced its new

rules. >> as a family group, we were not pleased that commuting was not part of this at all. because commuting did play a significant role in the crash of flight 3407. >> reporter: in fact, the national transportation safety board is adding its own concern tonight, telling abc news, it was disappointed in the faa's final rules on the issue and see it as an ongoing, unresolved concern. bill? >> brian ross, thank you. and coming up next, how the promise of an internet audience is luring mobs of teens to some astounding acts. how can you get back pain relief that lasts up to 16 hours?

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a full moon, won can i hormones, strong drink, all things can influence human behavior. and then there is the teenage brain. at least these days, they seem to be acting out on video, both for research and prosecution purposes. he's abc's dan harris with some spill tack lor attempts to court and audience. >> reporter: it's hard to take your eyes off of it. teenagers diving into stacks of cereal, hurling themselves into boxes of trucks at the toy store. and plowing over an entire luggage display.

sweeping products off of shelves. punching out just tin bieber. and belly flopping over bookshelves. even when the boys are confronted by employees at various stores around tampa, florida, they appear utterly unfazed. >> you candidate ride in the store. >> all right. keep filming. >> all right. let me have it, please. give me the skateboard. >> reporter: these videos have become a huge trend. jen right hundreds of those, even mfls of views and positive comments like "lol so funny." this falls on the heels of other crime falds, from ghostwriting, where people dance alongside moving cars, to flash robs, where young people often organized via social networks overwhelm store clerks with group shoplifting sprees. >> teenageers have always been bored. and are always looking for stupid ways to kill time. once you have online video,

there's a new allure to doing something stupid. you're getting bragging rights on a global basis. >> reporter: of course, this predates the age of youtube. back in the early part of the last decade, when mtv first started broadcasting "jackass." >> hello, i'm johnny knoxville. >> reporter: even though they included a "don't try this at ho home" disclaimer, teenagers started doing the stunts. in 2001, thomas was badly burned when a stunt went wrong and his torso caught on fire. but since then, as the internet has infiltrated all of our lives, the power of the viral idea, the meme, has it is called, has grown. to be sure, it isn't all bad. it's brought us cute cat videos and planking.

but the dark side can be nasty. remember that smoking baby in indonesia? even though he has now quit, i met him and he promised me -- no more cigarettes? >> i will never smoke again. >> reporter: though he says he's done, his online fame has respond a rash of imday torps in his native eindonesia but back o the teenagers in tampa. this has become a handy tool for the police. >> if there was any damage done to the property, looking at probably a criminal mischief. >> reporter: the cops say they already have one of the names of the kids involved. you got to imagine that when officers show up at these kids' doors, they won't be nearly as giddy as they seem on this videotape. for "nightline," this is dan harris in new york. >> ah, youth. thank you for watching abc news. we do hope you check in on "good