Fraudsters are cracking open old handheld cassette recorders and using their components to build ATM skimmers that steal your credit card numbers.

The devices use the cheap data recording abilities of the cassette player to copy the magnetic information on the credit card. A separate microcamera records the victim’s PIN codes as they punch them in. The magnetic strip is later decoded using a custom .WAV analysis program. KrebsOnSecurity recently got a manufacturer of one of these devices to shoot him over some pictures of his wares.

Pretty clever what these punks can get up to. I usually reflexively check out the ATMs I use, pulling on the card reader and looking around for hidden camera holes. At the very least it’s a way to pass the time while you wait for your cash to dispense.

Crooks Rock Audio-based ATM Skimmers [KrebsOnSecurity]

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