Credit Card Skimming: How To Protect Yourself
OnlineGuideTo.com — Right now someone, somewhere, may be using one of your credit cards — without your permission.
It happens more often than you might think. In the US alone, fraudulent credit transactions are costing retailers more than $300 billion a year.
A sizeable portion of that amount is the result of credit card skimming. Debit cards are equally at risk in this cloning scam.
How Credit Card Skimming Works
The information on the magnetic strip of your debit- or credit card is copied by a small scanning device. The information is than copied onto a bogus card, or simply used online.
The skimming usually occurs without you noticing that anything is wrong — and in place where you would not expect it:
- In a bar or restaurant
If you allow the waiter to take your credit card to the register, it can easily be swiped twice — once legitimately, and once in a separate machine that collects the credit card information.
But waiters have also been known to swipe cards in plain sight right at customers’ tables. In those cases the cards are run through a small scanner attached to a belt or carried in a pocket.
Waiters involved in such operations usually have been recruited with the promise of lucrative commission payments.
- At ATM machines
Scammers attach small electronic devices on the machine’s card slots to capture your card information. At the same time tiny, hidden cameras record the PIN numbers customers punch into the keyboards. - At any store
In the Netherlands there have been several recent cases in which crooks had themselves locked into a warehouse or large supermarket overnight. They could then adapt some or all of the store’s debit/credit machines at the cash registers. - Anywhere else — even at home
In Europe there have been several cases where someone dressed in an official looking uniform would deliver a ‘mystery’ package that has some postage due. The addressee is told the package can be returned to sender, or can be handed over if he or she is willing to pay the small amount — usually not more than a few dimes. This can only be done by credit- or debit card — swiped through a handheld machine.
Australian retailers last month were warned that card skimmers can not only tamper with the EFTPOS (Electronic Funds Transfer at Point of Sale) machines in their stores, but that some of these tampered machines could even have been rigged before they reach the stores.
That warning came after Australian police last month netted a gang in which the culprits managed to steal $50 million from users’ credit cards.
In the UK retailers loose $500.000 a day in cloned cards scams.
How You Can Protect Yourself
- Never let your card out of your sight
Do not allow waiters or other service personnel to take your card to the register. Even if the card is used at your table or otherwise in your presence, do not be distracted. Keep your eye on your card at all times. Be nice, but firm about it. Respectable business people won’t mind their customers being security-conscious. - Know what your ATM looks like
Do not use your bank’s ATM machines if something looks different than it has looked before. - Shield your PIN
Do not reveal your PIN information to anyone. Use one hand to cover the other when keying your PIN number. - Check your bank statements
Closely monitor your bank statements. If you bank online make it a routine to check your statement as often as possible. Suspicious activity does not necessarily involve large amounts. If you see small payments that you have no knowledge of, investigate and — if necessary — take action.
