Smart new tactic...one more place to be looking for skimmers...

Linking to a site that requires me to login with my Comcast account number? For shame....

It's gotten to the point that every time I make a purchase (grocery store, gas station, etc.) the first thing I do is check specifically for skimmers. They're becoming far, FAR more common place.

I've already had two credit cards hijacked in the past two years, though I never found out how. Starting to get a bit paranoid.

Oo! This is a good chance to give out my only little piece of hacker-type info:
Those ATM door-opener scanners work with *any* card with a magnetic strip. It makes sense since they need to work with other bank's cards and it's not worth making a call back to a server that actually checks the info on the strip before allowing entry (ever notice how quickly the door unlocks?).

I've used everything from my school ID card to a "club card" for the local burrito place (Qdoba) to open those doors. My guess is they're just there to keep homeless people out. :(

@elendur: Login to a news site? What is this with New York?

Wow, a pay-site for local news.

I never knew that either a. People cared about puppies and bake sales -that much-, or b. phishing could find such a strange target audience :P

But really, I chuckled.

@mobiuschic42: Gah! You beat me to it. I never use my bank card to open the door.

@Wombatish: it's a channel owned by the cable company.

@Wombatish: I think you're commenting on the wrong article ... ;)

@mobiuschic42: I used my subway pass for years before they changed the format of the cards. I have found some doors that don't work on just any mag strip though.

@Wombatish: Yeah, I was surprised this was a pay site. I've never seen a local station charge for its news on the Web. I wonder if this is just a NY thing?

@Preyfar: Were they hijacked in the sense that you found unauthorized transactions that you had to report, or was it that the bank/cc company detected compromised information and replaced the card itself? I had that happen to me with my citibank card. They sent me a new one unilaterally.

@Preyfar: I do the same. I tug on the card readers before I stick my card in.

Here's a non-pay/subscription link to the story:

[www.newsday.com]

I do not see a paywall but thats probably because I am a Cablevision customer. Good tips on using any card to gain entry though..

@Hanshiro: And for the non-New Yorkers here...Newsday and News12 are both owned by the same company now (Cablevision). Oy vey.

@elendur: It's not Comcastic, it's Dolantastic.

I have used my MetroCard to gain entry to an ATM enclosure before. all it seems to take is a magstrip.

@Hanshiro: That's not the same story. That one was about a skimmer attached to an ATM - the consumerist story is about one attached to the outside of the building where the ATM is housed.

@Wombatish: It is Cablevision. Cablevision is owned by the greedy bastards known as the Dolans.

@elendur: There's no log-in required. You might want to contact the news site and let them know what's happening--the link is free and clear.

Here another way to access it from the "Share This!" widget at the bottom of the article:

[shar.es]

The doors is where they should have installed the stupid "blink" functionality from credit cards.

@Wombatish: Can someone send me a direct email explaining what you're experiencing, including your location? I can't replicate a log-in requirement on any article we've linked to from the front page this morning. I'm also not a Cablevision customer, although I am located in the region.

For the record, this article does not require log-in:
[shar.es]

If the site is blocking base

@Chris Walters: All I get is the option to tell them my cable number or to subscribe for a fee, whichever link I click.

@Chris Walters: That link required log-in when I clicked on it. I'll email particulars.

@Chris Walters: The "shar.es" link DOES require a login for me (as well as the links above in the post). I'm in Wisconsin, for whatever that's worth.

It's pretty crazy to see a subscription-only local news site!

@mobiuschic42: Like homeless people aren't resourceful enough or can't scrounge up a mag-stripe card. I figured it out years ago and started using a dead Circuit City gift card. Still works, too!

I often wondered if the locked doors were there to make the customers feel safer or keep the homeless out, and I reckoned it could do neither.

@geekgrrl77: I'm guessing that the site recognizes IP addresses from the named companies.

@zacox: Yeah, now that you can get those cards *everywhere* it's more of a placebo for the nervous public than anything else. It's possible that when they first started using them that it wasn't as easy to get your hands on a card with a mag strip, right?

@zacox: You'd think they would be resourceful enough. Yet most ATM enclosures (for lack of a better word) don't have homeless people in them. Also, I've often seen homeless people hanging around outside waiting for a customer to come so they can get in. (These observations are based on the cities I've lived in: Toronto and Montreal). I've often wondered why more homeless people DON'T figure this hack out.

@mobiuschic42: It would be trivial to check if it's a legitimate credit card from the swipe data. I'm surprised they don't at least do that. Maybe it costs more for the lock and they're just cutting corners.

@elendur: I'm seeing the same thing. Ridiculous.

@Chris Walters: Yes, it does require log-in. I think you have a cookie set or something. Try from a different browser without that cookie set, or a different PC.

On another note, I categorically refuse to pay for news that should be free. I raise two giant middle fingers to Rupert Murdoch and his band of cronies who believe that I should pay so their reporters can dig up more dirt on Jon and Kate, Octomom, and Michael Jackson.

What a mistake they are making. If they can't make it using the traditional model of Internet advertising, then their content is not compelling enough to attract attention. And, if that's the case, it's certainly not compelling enough to attract dollars.

Sorry, this thread has now been hijacked! :/

@yesteraeon:

Could it be that a sane, non-addicted, organized, resourceful person is (homeless, or not) unlikely to desire to sleep in an ATM vestibule?

@treimel: Some places with ATMs are more than just tiny vestibules and they're frequently climate-controlled. I'll admit that I've been tempted to hang out with the ATMs for a little while when it's particularly hot or cold.

Um is it just me or is the security staff in that branch like TOTALLY unobservant and not on top of things? I mean come on they had mounted pinhole cameras AND skimmers right near a standard security device used for entry? Further, don't they run video surveillance and isn't somebody supposed to be reviewing it? Exactly how long were they there before Jimbo spotted them? Or did he only become aware of it when a victim let him in on it?

If the bank contracts out security services, they should get a credit or a refund.

@Chris Walters: Maybe you don't have to log in but the rest of us are seeing it using either of your links. They want to know which cable company you use and then enter in your account number.

@elendur: For a non-subscriber like me they want $5 per month... no thanks.

@MostlyHarmless: The first time the bank called me about it (some dude tried to buy $3,500 of sport equipment in NYC on my card). The second time I noticed it after scanning my statements and noticing a LOt strange purchases I couldn't ID.

Each time they stole money from the account they made a sizable donation to charity in my name. Go figure.

@Preyfar: Them crazy socialists!

@Vandelay Import Export: Really? And it doesn't de-activate the metrocard? I get so friggin nervous about having my Metrocard near anything because I spend some much darn money on it a week (expressbus unlimited card). I think in the meantime I will use an expired credit card to gain entry to banks.

@Chris Walters:
Chris, this is what we see when we try to access it:

[img407.imageshack.us]

@Chris Walters: I suspect you have your cable credentials stored away in your cookies somewhere, and the site is picking that up...

@Preyfar: Yeah, the only place I'm willing to use my debit card (well, aside from my bank's ATMs which have those anti-skimmer devices now) is the store I used to work at. Only company I've seen that has very loud alarm systems attached to the pinpads. If someone tried to swap out the pinpad with a modded one, the store would definitely know real fast.

@yesteraeon: Heh, he beat me to it too. I always use my Wegmans Card to open the door to an enclosed ATM.

@Chris Walters: Chris, it's because you're using Optimum Online to access the site, you don't need login credentials. If I'm using FiOS to access news12, it will ask me for an OptOnline login of which I just use my neighbor's anyway.

@mobiuschic42:
And take a nap?

I am not sure I understand where these skimmers are. There are doors that you have to use an ATM card to open to be able to use an ATM? Is this a bigger city thing?

I seemed to mention this earlier. I just use my MetroCard, since it is in an easy to get place in the wallet.