Dutch bank ABN Amro is attaching anti-skimming devices to its 1200 outdoor cash machines across the Netherlands.
The bank says that its cash machines have recently been targeted by card skimmers, who attach a fake card reader to an ATM which records the data stored on the magnetic stripe of a credit or debit card. At the same time they spy on customers entering PINs using miniature cameras. The stolen data is then used to make counterfeit cards, which can be used to withdraw funds from customer accounts at ATMs.
Gijs Schreuder, head of retail payments, ABN Amro, says: "Skimming is really distressing for clients who have experienced it. So our top priority is to curb this crime."
As well as rolling out the anti-skimming devices ABN Amro says new safety instructions have also been add on cash machines for customers.
As skimming only works with mag-stripe cards the roll out of chip and PIN technology - which has been implemented in the Netherlands - is meant to eradicate the fraud. However an ABN Amro spokesman told Finextra that uncertainty over when mag-strip cards will finally be made redundant in Europe has led the bank to act now. He also said the roll out is necessary because of the negative publicity the crime generates, which damages consumer confidence in using ATMs.
Last year Lloyds TSB said it was attaching anti-skimming devises to its UK ATM network to protect those consumers without chip and PIN cards, including foreign visitors, as well as customers with damaged chip cards which, in some cases, can revert to working via the magnetic strip.
Last month Australia's Westpac suspended 900 customer cash cards following the discovery of a skimming device at an ATM in Melbourne. Withdrawals, totalling $100,000, affected approximately 75 customers and have been traced to Toronto.