"Card skimmers" are devices used by criminals to secretly steal credit or debit card information. They are usually installed on ATM machines or payment terminals, and they capture the card details when people use them.
Full definition
News of
credit card skimmers at gas stations and other public locations hit every day — knowing about this protection is paramount, now more than ever.
More scammers are directly hacking into cash machines to make them spit out money in central and western Europe, while the use
of card skimmers that capture card details as someone uses an ATM is in decline.
------------------------------------ Governor Cuomo announced the beginning of a new, statewide cooperative effort to crack down on illegal credit / debit
card skimmers at gas pumps across New York, seeking to end criminals» ability to empty the bank accounts of their victims.
It is best to avoid using your PIN
as card skimmers are often paired with small cameras.
Always look
for card skimmers when you're using an ATM to prevent your credit or debit card information from being stolen.
Hacking into cash machines to get them to spit out money or just blasting them open is on the rise,
whilst card skimmers are decreasing in popularity
You may not notice cheap credit
card skimmers disguised as normal places to swipe your card when you travel abroad — but if you have an EMV chipped card, you have less to worry about.
But smart credit cards actually have a reason to connect to the internet: the real promise is the ability to combine all of your cards into one by storing all of your card information onto a single smart card — essentially cloning your cards the way a credit
card skimmer does, expect you're using this power for good.
Nov. 20, 2012: Beware Card - and Cash - trapping at the ATM... Many security - savvy readers of this blog have learned to be vigilant against
ATM card skimmers and hidden devices that can record you entering your PIN at the cash machine.
On Thursday, The Ledger reported that law enforcement officials in Gainesville, Florida are warning motorists that illegally installed
credit card skimmers are showing up in gas station pumps as part of what appears to be a statewide theft ring.
There's been a huge rise in scammers directly hacking into cash machines to make them spit out money, whilst the use
of card skimmers — small scanners that capture card details as someone uses an ATM, is in decline.
CARD skimmers are so passé.
Card skimmers are so last year.
We've heard the stories in the news — identity thieves stealing personal information through phishing scams,
card skimmers, or computer malware.
In Seattle, at least, one enterprising Wendy's worker allegedly attempted to supplement her income by using a credit
card skimmer to steal credit card information from at least 135 customers, leading to $ 75,000 in known fraudulent activity in those customers» accounts.
Crown prosecutors in Nova Scotia have secured the conviction of Eugeniu Micolai Moldovan on 77 counts of fraud, stemming from a scam in which Moldovan and an accomplice placed
a card skimmer and PIN reader on automated ticketing machines at a local movie megaplex.
If it's true, then your card or account numbers may have been obtained through any number of ways; identity thieves may use every means at their disposal, from credit
card skimmers to buying your numbers from illegal sources.
Staying vigilant of your surroundings at the ATM is one way to prevent being mugged, but you might miss
the card skimmer many thieves carefully place inside the machine slot to capture your debit / credit card numbers as you swipe.
A credit
card skimmer is a malicious device criminals attach to a payment terminal — most commonly on ATMs and gas pumps.