It used to be that physical possession of your ATM card and being the only one who knew the PIN meant your account was safe.
This is no longer the case as there has been a surge in crooks using high tech devices to get credit/debit card and PIN data. Once this data is obtained, they cash out the accounts.
Criminals are hiding an electronic device in the card slot on ATM machines and gas pumps. When you slide your card to make a purchase, the device records your card data.
To get the PIN number, a keypad is placed over the original keypad and records the PIN as you type. The combined data is then sent via encrypted text message to the thief.
How to Protect Yourself
First of all, use your credit card instead of your debit card. You won’t have to expose your PIN and federal law limits your liability for credit card fraud to $50. If you need to use your debit card, choose the “credit” option to avoid inputting your PIN. Or pay the old fashioned way
Make a quick inspection to see if anything looks suspicious whenever you use your debit/ATM card at the gas pump or an ATM machine. Don’t use it if anything looks unusual – let the owner know so others won’t become victims.
If you want to learn more about ATM skimming and see some pictures of the actual devices, check out http://krebsonsecurity.com/tag/atm-skimmer/
