Authorities in Europe have seized a nice video recorded by a group of carders showing the criminals installing a skimming device and hidden camera at an ATM in the United Kingdom to steal customer PINs.
Filmed from the hidden pinhole camera itself, installed above the ATM, the video shows how easy it is to capture the PINs as customers enter them on the keypad. But a few wily customers, who are wise to the carders’ tricks, manage to thwart their scheme by shielding the keypad as they type in their number.
Skimming has long been a successful means for carders to steal bank account PINs at ATMs. The carders install a fraudulent lookalike card reader over the legitimate reader — at ATMs, gas stations and elsewhere — that captures the customer’s bank account number from the magnetic stripe on the card as it’s placed in the reader. A pinhole camera then captures an image of the keypad.
The European ATM Security Team, which released the video this week, offers these tips for thwarting carders:
Protect your PIN by standing close to the ATM and shielding the keypad with your other hand.
Check to see if anything looks unusual or suspicious about the ATM. Jiggle the card slot. If there appears to be anything stuck onto the card slot or keypad, don’t use it. Don’t try to remove suspicious devices.
Be cautious if strangers offer to help you at an ATM, even if your card is stuck or you’re having difficulties, and don’t allow anyone to distract you.
