Whenever I’m in New York City and load up a MetroCard at the train station kiosk, I give the card readers extra scrutiny and think to myself, “such a high-volume spot would be a great place to install a skimmer.” My paranoia was justified: earlier this week, the Metropolitan Transit Authority warned the public that they’ve found card skimmers on a few of those very kiosks. [More]
skimmers
Tiny Bluetooth Card Skimmers Will Make You Hug Your Debit Card
By 1.23.14
It’s probably not a good idea to use your debit card at the gas pump. Not because we have anything against debit cards, but because we’ve learned of yet another group of criminals who planted invisible card skimmers in pay-at-the-pump machines at gas stations in the southern United States. [More]
Shell Still Trying To Figure Out That Anti-Skimmer Sticker Thing
By 12.5.13
Credit and debit card skimmers are a menace that might discourage consumers from using ATMs and pay-at-the-pump devices at gas stations. That’s why seals that show everyone whether a pump has been tampered with are a great idea, even if they aren’t foolproof at detecting the sneakiest and tiniest skimmers. Unless you employ them like some Shell stations. [More]
Scammers Distract Cashiers, Install Skimmers On Nordstrom Cash Registers
By 10.17.13
Keyloggers are devices that plug in between a keyboard and computer, and they have perfectly legitimate uses. For example, let’s say that you suspect one of your employees is writing “Sherlock” fan fiction instead of doing data entry: you can see what they’re actually typing and find out. The keyloggers found at a Nordstrom store in Florida were put to a use that isn’t legitimate at all: stealing credit card numbers. [More]
Tiny Bluetooth Gas Pump Skimmers Are Here To Gobble Your Credit Card Info
By 7.30.13
In the above picture, on the left you see a brand-new credit/debit card for gas pumps. On the right is the same device with a card-skimming device placed in the conveniently empty slot. How can consumers avoid having their card information skimmed by crooks using similar devices? You probably won’t even know until the fraudulent purchases hit your account. [More]
Secret Service Says ATM Card Skimmers Are More Popular Than Ever
By 7.25.12
Even though consumers are more aware of ATM card skimmers, which record customers’ account data with the intention of using it to make fraudulent purchases and withdrawals, the money-and-President-defending folks at the Secret Service say the use of these illegal devices is actually on the rise. [More]
Skimmers Found Installed Inside Gas Pumps. Inside!
By 5.18.11
If you’re the type of person who already reflexively jiggles every card slot and looks for pinhole cameras whenever you go to swipe your card, despair. There is no 100% foolproof way to protect yourself, as proven by a pair of banditos who stole 3,600 card numbers after installing a credit card skimmer inside several gas pumps, reports the MountainView Voice. [More]
Debit Card Skimmer Found On Train Ticket Dispenser
By 9.15.10
Be careful, travelers, skimmers aren’t just for ATMs. Here’s one a Dutch guy found on a local train ticket machine. This is even a little bit more insidious than an ATM skimmer because busy passengers are even less likely to hide their PIN or notice a skimming device before rushing to their next train. The site is in Dutch but just scroll through the labeled pictures. With phrases like “betterijen uit mobiele telefoon” it’s pretty easy to figure out what he’s talking about. [More]
Bank Of America Technician Turned ATM Into Free Money Machine, Stole Over $200,000
By 4.13.10
A former BoA IT worker has agreed to plead guilty to installing malware on the bank’s ATM machines in order to withdraw money whenever he felt like it, reports Wired. According to the plea agreement, his total take from the crime was between $200-400k. The bank won’t disclose how he did it or what the malware was like, but earlier this month Visa announced that new malware has hit the U.S. that could not only capture customers’ PINs and card data, but also give the criminal the ability to empty the machine of any cash that was in it. [More]
Gas Station Credit Card Skimmers Were Siphoning $20k Per Day
By 3.5.10
Police have made arrests connected to a gas station credit card skimming ring that was bilking Northern California drivers for $20,000 a day, reports the Sacramento Bee. 11 credit card skimmers, loaded up with hundreds of credit card numbers from unwary consumers, were found in a car driven by the two men arrested in connected with the scheme, says the Martinez, California Police Department. [More]
Card Skimmer Shows Up On 7-Eleven Gas Pump
By 12.10.09
Just when you thought it was safe to fill up your car while filling yourself with a Big Gulp, a credit-card skimmer has turned up on a gas pump at a 7-Eleven in Vancouver, WA. The skimmer didn’t affect transactions, so customers were able to pump gas while the skimmer quietly collected their credit-card numbers. [More]
You Can Buy Used ATMs On Craigslist
By 11.24.09
Even if you always look for skimmers and hidden cameras when you use an ATM, you still might be a victim of identity theft if the ATM is later sold on eBay or Craigslist. [More]
Video: Guy Installing Skimmer On ATM
By 9.14.09
LiveLeak has posted surveillance video footage from earlier this month of a guy in Brazil installing a skimming device onto a bank ATM. The second half of the tape shows him being arrested and officials revealing the device, which just reminds us that the next time we use an ATM, we’re first going to take off a shoe and hit everything on it like it’s covered in giant ants. See the video below.
ID Theft Ring Placed Skimmers In Taco Bell, Stole Cards From Gym Lockers
By 9.4.09
Credit card skimmers aren’t just on ATMs and in grocery stores, apparently they’re at Taco Bell. The Colorado Springs Gazette reports that a ID theft ring was busted for skimming credit card numbers at a Taco Bell as well as stealing cards from people’s gym lockers.
Skimmers Rig Door Instead Of ATM
By 8.31.09
Last week, a customer in Long Beach, New York, discovered a skimmer attached to the outside of a local ATM branch instead of on specific machines. We’ve talked a lot about being wary of any suspicious add-ons at the ATM, but in this case the criminals were collecting card info as people swiped to enter the building—although they still had pinhole cameras set up to record PINs next to each keypad.
ATM Skimmer Ring Hits Chicago Suburbs
By 8.15.09
Reader Kellie reports being the victim of an ATM skimming scam in the Chicago area. Mostly, she was amazed that the thefts weren’t reported in the local media, and she asked bank employees why. Here’s what they told her.
Hackers Discover Data-Stealing ATM At Convention
By 8.4.09
Nobody knows yet whether it was planted by an attendee, or if the ATM had been there for some period of time before the event, but hackers at last week’s DefCon conference in Las Vegas discovered a rogue unit that was designed to capture customers’ credit card data with each use.
Two Men Charged With Placing Skimmer On Maryland ATM
By 7.24.09
Two men “of no fixed address” were charged in Maryland earlier this month with tampering with an ATM and skimming funds. The men, currently in custody in Oklahoma for similar crimes, allegedly added a skimmer and camera to an ATM at a Maryland PNC bank in April, but police weren’t notified of the tampering until May 20th.
