ATM Skimming – You've Been Warned!
In early September while using an ATM machine at a bank in Southern Florida, a lady had trouble placing her card in the ATM card reader slot. Upon closer investigation she noticed that the color of the card slot was a little different than the rest of the machine. She immediately alerted authorities who removed what is known as a skimming device.
This type of highly sophisticated scam reads the card as the consumer places the card into the reader slot at the ATM machine. Inside the skimmer is a magnetic stripe reader that reads the information on the consumer’s bank card. After the card is inserted into the skimming device the thief is able to read the pin number as the consumer presses the numbers on the keypad. The thief is able to do this via a strategically placed camera that can be mounted in the skimmer or fairly close to the skimmer location.
Bruce Mandelblit of NewsMax.com suggests the following consumer tips to help reduce criminal activity at the ATM machine:
1. Be wary of anything about the ATM machine that looks out of the ordinary, such as odd-looking equipment or wire attached to the device.
2. Be wary of a “no tampering” sign. These are often placed by crooks to thwart anyone curious about a new piece of equipment.
3. Be wary of a jammed ATM machine that forces customers to use another ATM that has a skimmer attached.
4. Customers should also check their bank accounts regularly to make sure there are no unusual or unauthorized transactions. Federal law limits loss from ATM fraud, and many banks offer additional protection. Consumers should check with their financial institution for details.
5. If you see anything unusual or suspicious around an ATM, or if you find unauthorized ATM transactions on your bank account, notify local law enforcement, as well as your financial institution and/or the establishment where the ATM is located.
6. It is also a good idea to always protect your PIN including not giving the number to anyone and to cover the keypad while you are entering your PIN.
7. If possible, it is usually best to carry out your ATM transactions during the daylight hours as most ATM-related crimes happen after dark.
Jamey Heary, a Cisco security consulting systems engineer wrote an excellent article at Network World that is highly informative and also includes a portfolio of example photos of both basic and advance skimmers.
Additional information regarding skimming can be found at:
ATM, Skimming
3 Comments
Interesting to know how best to protect our assets from identity theft. Good to learn about the methods that criminals use to steal our identity, and about the ways that we can circumvent this malicious activity.
atmsecurity.com
Thanks for stopping by Simon! Great information at your site regarding ATM Crime/ATM Fraud Overview
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