Four Romanian nationals in Florida have been charged in a series of ATM skimmer frauds that targeted banks in New York City, Cicero (near Syracuse), NY, and Rochester, NY. They are charged with, among other things, aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to commit credit card fraud. According to the Syracuse office of the Secret Service, they stole $1.8 million overall.
atms
Loomis Rent-A-Cops Have Shopper Cuffed, Hauled Away Over ATM Photo
By 5.11.09
While Shane was standing in the customer service line at a Seattle REI, he watched two Loomis employees open and change out the cash in an ATM machine. Shane took a photo of them with his iPhone. This apparently freaked out the Loomis guards, the REI security staff, and then the Seattle police, who put handcuffs on Shane, drove him to the police station, and then made him sign a statement that he wouldn’t return to a REI store for a year. You might have noticed in that summary that they didn’t actually bring any charges against him, which should make it clear to anyone who wants to side with the faux Po-Po that what Shane did wasn’t illegal, that the rent-a-cops should be fired, and that REI and Loomis owe Shane a big apology.
ID An ATM Skimmer
By 4.21.09
Here’s a 24-page PDF of a powerpoint on ATM skimmers that’s making the rounds in Australia. If you’ve been reading every ATM skimming post, most of this is review, but it contains several more examples of what skimmers can look like and what to watch out for. Though it’s from an Australian bank, most of the information is general enough to apply to any ATM. A handy document to pass around to friends and family to warn them about ATM skimming dangers.
Video: How An ATM Skimmer Scam Works
By 4.21.09
How do ATM skimmers work? This clip from UK show “The Real Hustle” shows you, from start to finish, how scammers steal your card info and take out money themselves. (Thanks to bonanzaone!)
Here’s What A Card Skimmer Looks Like On An ATM
By 4.19.09
[protected-iframe id="9b6e89c2a2d363ebc95643d071c6468b-40783744-40309798" info="http://digg.com/api/diggthis.php?u=http://digg.com/hardware/Here_s_What_A_Card_Skimmer_Looks_Like_On_An_ATM" width="55" height="82" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"]A lot of you have been asking to see what a skimmer looks like before it’s yanked off an ATM. Are they easy to spot or virtually unnoticeable? Our reader Timeus works for a bank and deals with this sort of thing every day, and he sent in the following photos. Enjoy.
Reader Finds Another Card Skimmer On ATM
By 4.19.09
Kelly sent us these pics of a card skimmer he found yesterday on a Bank of America ATM in Atlanta. He writes, “I asked the police what to do; they said give it to the bank. I asked the bank what to do, they said give it to the police. I assume that no one has established standard procedures to handle this kind of thing yet.” Well if nothing else, send us a photo! Then we can publicize it for other readers, which is how Kelly found it in the first place: “I would have not even recognized it or known to look for it had I not read the article on your website a week earlier about what to look for.” Full size pics below.
NY Post Picks Up Consumerist Reader's ATM Skimming Story
By 4.12.09
Check it out, we’re in the New York Post today. They picked up our reader Dan’s story about finding an ATM skimmer at a Chase/WaMu, along with the skimmer spotted by Gizmodo reader Sean after they ran Dan’s story. Neat!
3 ATM Skimmers Found In One Week At Chase/WaMus – What?!
By 4.9.09
Three different ATM skimmers were found this week and reported on blogs, raising the question of what the heck is going on considering these are supposed to be a rarity. First, our reader Dan found a skimmer on a WaMu/Chase ATM in LA. Gizmodo picked up the story and subsequently their reader Sean Seibel found a skimmer on a Chase ATM in Manhattan’s East Village. Then this kid Nick McGlynn found a setup similar to the one Sean did, also on a Chase ATM. Now, when our reader Dan took the credit-card snagging device skimmer to the police he said they, “got a big kick out of the skimmer, saying they’d never seen one in person.” Hmm… Let’s look at a bunch of sexy ATM skimming photos and figure out what’s up with all these skimmers cropping up…
Rogue's Gallery Of ATM Skimmers
By 4.7.09
Since you guys liked yesterday’s post where a reader found an ATM skimming device so much, Network World has got a bit of “Rogue’s Gallery” of the credit card-number stealing machines so you’ll better know what to look for out in the wild. For instance, this photo shows how thieves will mount a camera on the ATM so they can record you typing in your PIN. It’s placed over the statement dispenser using plastic that matches perfectly with the “host” ATM. Sneaky.
Reader Finds Card Skimmer On Bank ATM
By 4.6.09
Dan says over the weekend he discovered a card skimmer attached to the ATM at his local WaMu branch. He pulled it off and took photos of it.
This Bank Of America Sign Is Woefully Honest
By 3.17.09
Or as Holly, the tipster who took the photo, writes, “[there are] so many things right with this picture.”
Claim Your Share ($78) Of The Bank Of America Overdraft Settlement
By 1.22.09
Bank of America has settled a class action lawsuit over its dirty overdraft tricks—things like approving transactions that generate overdraft fees, for example, or clearing transactions in high-to-low order to increase the number of overdrafts. If you’re a former customer of BoA, Fleet, LaSalle Bank or United Trust Company, you can claim your part of the settlement fund.
$400k ATM Receipt – Madison Ave Doin' Just Fine
By 1.9.09
There’s a $407k balance on this ATM receipt. At least one denizen of Madison Ave, a metonym for the advertising industry, hasn’t been reading the headlines. One is that he’s supposed to have no money thanks to the recession. The other is that the FDIC only provides coverage up to $250,000. Oh Don Draper, won’t you ever be felled by your devil-may-care ways? Full-size, inside…
Kiss Courtesy Overdraft Fees Goodbye With WaMu Debit-Only Card?
By 11.21.08
Whoever came up with the name “courtesy overdraft fee” is one smart cookie. They figured out a way to let you do something you don’t want to do, charge you a fee, and make it sound like they’re doing you a favor. WaMu is one of the few banks that let you…
99-Cent ATMs At NYC McDonald's
By 8.4.08
Tip for the savvy traveler visiting New York: all the McDonald’s in New York have ATMs with only 99-cent fees. However you will probably have to put up with a freelance “doorman” bumming for change on your way out.
WaMu: "It Is Not My Problem If You Did Not Plan To Pay Your Bills On Time"
By 7.15.08
WaMu goes out of its way to convince you that it is staffed by friendly, outgoing people who want to help you if something goes wrong. Their “About” page on the WaMu website says: “We’re informal, friendly and fun. We take our customers’ money seriously, but not ourselves.” We suspect that reader Drew would disagree with the whole “friendly” part of that sentence. He arrived home a day late from a business trip to Europe and was in a rush to pay his rent before it was due. He made it to the WaMu branch 5 minutes before it closed, but it was already locked.
Here's What The World Of ATM Hacking Looks Like
By 6.26.08
Wired has been covering the ongoing investigation into recurring ATM pin thefts from Citibank accounts, and their latest article tracks how Ukrainian immigrants, a ringleader back in Russia, a hacked company named Fiserv that runs Citibank-branded ATMs in 7-Elevens, and an online payment service that also offers money laundering for a small fee all come together to steal your money. It’s an amazing look at how the U.S. tries to combat the threat of ATM-related theft.
