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PIN may sometimes stand for pilfered identification number if a hacker gets yours. And it’s easier than ever for thieves to get your PIN from an ATM, coming up with clever ways to beat security technology.
The “primitive” way to get your card number is to manually place a phony card reader over an ATM card reader and then come back to retrieve it. Now it’s being done wirelessly via Bluetooth and SMS tech built into the skimmer. Coupled with wireless cameras and keypad overlays, getting your PIN is easier than ever.
They’re also brazen enough to land jobs that will grant them ATM access; they then install malware that can transmit your PIN to their personal device. PIN hacking’s memory chips and transmitters are thinner and lighter these days, making them go undetected.
The crime of ATM skimming racks up $350,000 a day.
These smart criminals can copy skimmed credit card data on gift cards, blank cards, hotel cardkeys or white cards, the latter being quite useful at self-checkouts. Protection comes in the form of:
A crook (often a store employee in this case) can also nab your data with a handheld skimming device like the “wedge” listed above.
The Many Faces of Skimming
Get familiar with the ATM you use—because you should be using the same one so that it will be easier to spot something different about it.
This content is provided by an external author without editing by Finextra. It expresses the views and opinions of the author.
Sergiy Fitsak Managing Director, Fintech Expert at Softjourn
14 August
Oleksandr Strozhemin Co-founder and CEO at Trinetix
13 August
Elaine Mullan Head of Marketing and Business Development at Corlytics
12 August
Abhinav Paliwal CEO at PayNet Systems- A Neo Banking Software Platform
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