ATM Skimming

You have always heard about phishing, medical identity thefts, credit card thefts but how many of you have heard about skimming frauds and particularly ATM Skimming? A relatively new term is another innovation by fraudsters to get hold of your very personal information and that too from the points which you think are completely secure, you very own ATM machines. Skimming is basically reading the information from the magnetic stripe of a card and using it to create a duplicate card so the fraudsters don’t really have to get hold of your card.

How it works

Mostly the ATM machines with no surveillance are the targets. You can hardly suspect that something is wrong with your ATM machine until you are specifically looking for it.
A small device goes directly over the normal card reading slot of the ATM and can read the magnetic stip at the back of your card. A hidden camera takes the video of what is happening on the screen and what is typed. The information is then sending through wireless transmitters to the fraudsters who can be up to 200 meters of distance. The hidden cameras are installed directly facing at what you are typing to know the pins. These usually work along with skimmer devices. An ATM card can be skimmed and can even be trapped in the machine.

A skimmer can be a shopkeeper or the cashier at restaurant who along with swiping your card genuinely, swipes it through the skimming machine as well. This is also known as POS (Point of Sale) skimming.

Tips to deal with ATM skimming

To keep yourself safe from ATM skimming, you need to keep in mind following safeguard tips:

• Skimming devices are usually protruding out or a little bigger than usual slots. If you find anything suspicious, don’t use that ATM and do inform the concerned authorities.
• Hide your keypad with your hand, in case there is a hidden camera in the vicinity. The probable places for hidden cameras may be the pamphlet holder right beside your ATM machine.
• Usually the ATMs with CCTV cameras and in the bank premises are safe. Try to use them but be attentive at these places as well.
• Get your card swiped at a showroom or restaurant before you. Do not hand it over to the salesperson or waiter and let him take to the counter. Accompany him.
• In countries like US, independent ATMs are quite common making it easy for the fraudsters to steal your money. Introduction of smart cards can be a solution to this problem.
• If by any chance, your card gets trapped in the machine, do not enter your pin, just inform the bank immediately.
• Don’t accept help just from anybody at the ATM. If he is more concerned about knowing your PIN rather than assisting you, deny any advances then and there.
• Do not just crumble and throw away your transaction slips. Shred them and then throw them.

A few precautions and being alert while using an ATM can keep your information safe and guarded. So the next time you visit an ATM, think about ATM skimming and beware so that no fraudster can take advantage of you. Remember, being aware is the only guard against identity thefts.