quote:

...Police say they’ve made the first dent in a sophisticated scheme to drain people’s bank accounts.

...Skimming is the practice of using bank-card readers to swipe people’s account information off ATM cards and capturing PIN numbers with tiny cameras.

The information is then downloaded to a blank gift card or store card – any card with a magnetic strip will do – and used with the PIN number to access bank accounts. So far, police say, the skimming operation uncovered in Quincy has netted thieves hundreds of thousands of dollars across eastern Massachusetts. A Quincy police sergeant is among those whose information was stolen.

And the number of victims and dollars stolen is expected to grow.

...The ring first reared its head in the United States in November in Chicago, police said.

...members of the ring have been brazenly installing homemade card-reading devices and hidden cameras inside ATM vestibules. “They don’t even try to hide their faces,” from the bank security cameras, he said.

...How it works

THE SKIMMER: A “skimmer” goes over the scanner in which bank customers insert their ATM cards. To the casual eye, it may look like a normal card scanner.

THE CAMERA: A tiny camera, the size of a ballpoint pen, is hidden in stripping above the key pad. The camera captures PIN numbers as people punch them in.

THE INFO: The video and the information gleaned from the skimmer goes to a laptop, perhaps in a nearby parking lot, using wireless technology.

THE MONEY: Scammers, with their laptops, download codes and PIN numbers. They can then recode any card with a magnetic strip as a copy of your ATM card.

How not to get skimmed


To protect yourself:

- Check your account statements for any irregularities. Once a card is “cloned,” it can be used at gas stations, supermarkets, ATMs, or anywhere debit cards are accepted. Contact local police and your bank if you have any charges you didn’t make.

- Conceal your PIN number with your hand as you punch it into the ATM keypad.

- If you see any unusual devices in an ATM booth, contact police and your bank.

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John

...it appeares no other thing
to mee, then a foule and pestilent congregation of vapours.
What a piece of worke is a man!