Australian police have described an ATM skimming device uncovered in Sydney, which is estimated to have recorded the details of up to 1000 customers, as one of the most advanced to date.
According to Australian press reports the device, which was attached to an ATM in Sydney's Bondi Junction, was thought to have been in operation for three days.
The system uses a pin-hole camera to record the PINs and a magnetic strip reader to copy details on the cards. The thieves can then burn the data onto a magnetic strip card to access bank accounts.
Michael Boutouridis, from the NSW fraud squad, told press the new skimming device was one of the first to have its own memory system and showed that technology used by fraudsters has advanced.
"With the other machines we have found, they would have to remain close by to watch the details...But this one can be used over a long period of time, with the information stored on tape and on chips inside," he says.
Last year Kok Meng Ng, 27, was jailed for an ATM card skimming scam that defrauded 315 Australian bank customers of A$623,426.
Ng was part of a criminal gang that attached card skimming devices and pinhole cameras to ATMs operated by St George Bank, Westpac and Commonwealth Bank. Counterfeit cards were then used to withdraw cash.