Skimming comes in many forms, from a waiter stealing the digits off a credit card to the high-tech “wedges” that read an automatic teller machine card’s magnetic strip as it’s swiped through the machine.
Before cameras were small enough to discreetly place around an ATM and capture a personal identification number, tech-wise thieves slipped devices beneath ATM keypads to gather the personal numbers.
But that doesn’t fly today, said Robert Evans, director of industry marketing at ATM manufacturer NRC. Now, the pads are encrypted.
Yet, the thieves continue to advance with the technology, their efforts made worthwhile by the big rewards — anywhere between thousands and millions — and the low risk.
An armed bank robber is likely to make off with only a few thousand ink-dyed dollars and will face stiff penalties for using a gun in the commission of crime, Evans said. But in most jurisdictions, skimmers get off with a comparable slap on the wrist, rarely serving more than 36 months in prison and usually much less.
To raise the bar, ATM manufacturers have had to think creatively. Some ATM card readers now have a “jitter” — as the card slides in, it shifts back and forth, making it difficult for an external device to read the magnetic strip’s details, Evans said.
“You want to make the machine the least attractive and hope the bad guys go do something else,” he said.
