Bank ATM's Converted to Steal IDs of Bank
Customers
A team of organized criminals are installing equipment on legitimate bank
ATM's in at least 2 regions to steal both the ATM card number and the PIN.
The team sits nearby in a car receiving the information transmitted
wirelessly over weekends and evenings from equipment they install on the
front of the ATM (see photos). If you see an attachment like this, do not
use the ATM and report it immediately to the bank using the 800 number or
phone on the front of the ATM.
The equipment used to capture your ATM card number and PIN are cleverly
disguised to look like normal ATM equipment. A "skimmer" is
mounted to the front of the normal ATM card slot that reads the ATM card
number and transmits it to the criminals sitting in a nearby car.
At the same time, a wireless camera is disguised to look like a leaflet
holder and is mounted in a position to view ATM PIN entries.
The thieves copy the cards and use the PIN numbers to withdraw thousands
from many accounts in a very short time directly from the bank ATM.
Equipment being installed on front of existing bank card slot.
The equipment as it appears installed over the normal ATM bank slot.
The PIN reading camera being installed on the ATM is housed in an innocent
looking leaflet enclosure.
The camera shown installed and ready to capture PIN's by looking down on the
keypad as you enter your PIN
For
now the best defense is for ATM customers to remain cautious and vigilant
when using their cards, but distinguishing a rigged machine (especially one
of the independent variety) from the real thing can be extremely difficult
even for the most careful of users. NCR hopes that the introduction of
Good advice would be to get into the habit of using the same ATM for almost
all of your transactions so as to better recognize when something is
different with the machine. Be wary of any changes you see on its outside.
If it's affixed to a bank, walk in and ask why the changes were made.