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How to Spot ATM Skimming and PIN Capturing Devices

Monday, 04 May 2009
 

Don’t know about any of you out there, but I have been the victim of ATM skimming twice now in the past several months. At first, I could not understand how in the world it was possible for someone to not only get my pin number, but use it to withdrawal cash from my checking account without having my physical ATM card.

Well ladies and gentlemen, it is VERY possible and the pictures below reveal how this is done. There is a particular art and skill to how these thieves steal your money.

ATM Skimming Device 1

The above pic shows an unadulterated ATM fascia. The flashing light is easily observed. Note: Most skim devices when fitted will obscure the flashing entry indicator.

ATM Skimming Device 2

A skim device has been placed on top of the card reader slot. Notice the additional fitted piece that was not in the above photo.

ATM Skimming Device 3

Another example of a skimming device being placed onto the card reader.

ATM Skimming Device 4

This ATM fascia piece (located above the screen) has a PIN capturing device installed within. Hard to tell isn't it?

ATM Skimming Device 5

Here is the ATM fascia piece removed for a closer look.

ATM Pin Capturing Device 1

Here you can clearly see the PIN capturing device installed on the inner side of the fascia piece.

ATM Pin Capturing Device 2

This is another example of a fascia piece fitted to the speaker area directly above the screen.

ATM Pin Capturing Device 5

Removal of the fitted device from the fascia.

ATM Pin Capturing Device 3

Here we have a piece of merchandising placed on the side ATM fascia wall.

ATM Pin Capturing Device 4

Upon closer inspection of the brochure rack unit, you can clearly see the pin hole camera installed on the bottom side, capturing an image of the keypad and subsequently, our PIN numbers.

See more ATM skimming and pin capturing devices and find out what steps you can take to mitigate the risk of a skimming attack.

And to think, all this time I thought my two identity theft occurances were an inside job at my current bank. Silly me :) .



Reader's Comments

  1. you fucking stupids this is very old pictures whit divice anny way you will get fuck whit the new divice smart ass the bank fuck as not skimmeres

  2. I think Gringo needs to go back to kindergarten – your spelling sucks and you make no sense a**wad

  3. Sooo, “gringo on”….this is the best you can do after 11 years of English night school?
    Your vocabulary is amazing…more than four single syllable words?
    Gee, your fellow countrymen must be PROUD of your accomplishment.
    Perhaps you should undergo a craniotomy and brain resection and have your snazzy “new divice” inserted up there where the sun obviously never shines.

    What a two bit loser you are!

  4. More and more people are becoming victims, discovering that their personal and financial information is being used by someone else. Your information on how we can prevent identity theft is really helpful. atmsecurity.com

  5. Informative read. However, the problem will never be truly addressed unless those responsible for the technology spend a few pennies to actually resolve it.

    The banks benefit substantially from the ATM system, admittedly lose hundreds of millions in fraud and yet make it difficult to recover losses. The consumer has no real choice but to use these devices yet we foot the bill for the inadequacies. It’s time the industry were responsible to the tune of all dollars lost. Then and only then will you see overnight resolution.

    The only real protection the consumer has is to just crowd the teller lines and force change. Congress is too protective of the banking system to make real changes. Only now do we have an inadequate CC bill in place and the response to that is to raise rates to the nose bleed area. In other words, it’s called hypocrisy.

  6. Banks actually *do* foot the bill for these problems, not the consumer, and certainly not Visa & Mastercard. Visa & Mastercard spend so much money on advertisements letting consumers know that if they lose their debit cards, they are not liable for losses incurred. Guess who is liable–the banks.

    And I’m not talking Bank of America and Wells Fargo-they are not true banks, anyway. I wouldn’t consider companies who issue credit cards to be banks, either. They’re a completely different animal. I’m talking about local, community banks who support their communities by helping small businesses succeed and providing resources for the average consumer.

    Crowding your teller line won’t help you; normal banks are not the enemy-they’re simply the group being held responsible for the greed of the behemoths.

  7. if i ever see a skimming device i’ll have to try real hard to report it to the bank and not wait around with a wooden baseball bat for the piece of s**t to come back for it. i’d love to get my hands on a scammer.

  8. Banks don’t always cover the Loss when your ATM account gets ripped off. I had My Union Bank Account Debit card Stolen the guy Charged up $250 dollars over the Zero Mark and the Bank kept charging me Overdraft fees until I paid off everything. Then they said because the Robber had my Pin number (Which they captured by supergluing one of the keys on the key pad making me type it in over and over again so they could see what it was) they could not prove it wasn’t ME who took the money, so they weren’t going to cover anything. I got stuck with the whole bill. So don’t automatically ASSUME the Banks are going to cover you. Banks are about making Money for themselves, don’t think for a MINUTE they actually CARE about YOU. They will hire a Lawyer to try to weasle their way out of paying you before they would actually pay for the Loss.

  9. [...] a laundry list of ways the ATM machine could be [...]

  10. Well I think the bank should check out the ATM machine ramdomly through out the day for ATM skimming. I think the customrer should aknowledge them selve of these skimmimg. I agree with one reader above that we supect something wrong with ATM machine to report it to the bank.I think the ATM machine should be change to prevent skimmings. Make it impossible for any one putting devices on the ATM machine. This is sad to say that the customers are being rip with out even known it. Stick to the bank ATM machine. Not the nalls or other places that is not affiliated with the banks.

  11. Gringo is obviously an uneducated piece of human trash
    from either Russia or one of the other insignificant Balkan countries who has neither the intelligence, or skill to earn money the honest way so he resorts to this. He’ll be dead or in jail soon enough. Life goes on regardless. :)

  12. so tell me people how do we check for card skimmers so we dont look like we are the ones who are placing the skimmer on the atm…. i sure dont wanna be arrested for being safe. figure how it would look if a person is checking the atm and pulling on all the components to see if the come off then whoop whoop police arrest me and saying im tampering with the atm..

  13. If I ever see a skimming device I am going to take it, any tech lose or abandon is subject to the scaninjure laws and it becomes MINE I will take it.
    I will take it home and re-use the cams and the pda for lagit stuff and rip off the crooks legaly

  14. Me Again,
    I thought about my tyraid and decided to come to terms with my temper. the guilty parties on both sides of the border are equally assholes. The americans scamming the ATM’s are just as bad as the Mexicans. The two guys in TJ that got my ATM account in TJ were Americans. I have seen them around the joints in TJ. I can ID them…but the Mexican cops really do not care. I may take someone elses idea and take a louisville slugger with me. Those guys looked american, talked american…dressed american. If I caught them I lay odds their apartment is stuffed with stolen goods. Anyhow I am still going to press COMERICA Bank for my dough. This week I send a nice letter to the Pres. and CO and let him know the score. He may not even know about this problem. He is in Detroit, my home town. We shall see. Has anybody out there got money back ????

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