What is skimming fraud and how to protect yourself

Skimming is the act of reading and copying credit card data without the owner of the card knowing. The stolen data is then used to withdraw money or carry out illegal trans­ac­tions.

How does skimming work?

Skimming is a type of man-in-the-middle attack where data from the magnetic strip or chip of a credit or debit card is read and copied when the card is placed into an ATM. There are many ways that ATMs can be tampered with to carry out skimming fraud. One method is to install an ad­di­tion­al reader directly on the card reader or even on door openers at bank branches since a card is often required to access the ATM area. Hidden cameras are often installed, usually in the plastic strips above the ATM keypad so that the PIN can be seen when the owner enters it. These cameras are often so well hidden that they are difficult to detect even if an ATM user is being extra vigilant. Fake keyboards are also fre­quent­ly used to record the PIN as it’s being entered. There are even methods that use thermal imaging cameras to find out PINs.

Skimming can also occur when ex­chang­ing cur­ren­cies, paying at gas stations or making purchases at stores. In these instances, a card is read by a second, fraud­u­lent device without the owner being aware of it. After the card data has been stolen, it is trans­ferred to a blank card, also known as “white cards”. Criminals can then withdraw money and make payments with this duplicate card and PIN. The reason that skimming is possible is because the data on the magnetic strip is freely ac­ces­si­ble and is not protected by the card itself, as is the case with modern chip cards.

How can you protect yourself from skimming?

Most banks check their ATMs to make sure they haven’t been tampered with. They are often equipped with anti-skimming modules, which are special tech­nolo­gies that are in­te­grat­ed into ATMs to detect and prevent skimming attempts. Here are some ways that these modules work:

• Prevent data from being read: Some modules con­tin­u­ous­ly emit in­ter­fer­ence signals that prevent a skimming device from reading data from a card’s magnetic strip.
• Physical barriers: Some anti-skimming modules prevent skimming devices from being attached to the card reader.
• Sensors and mon­i­tor­ing: Advanced modules use sensors and cameras to detect unusual activity or anything sus­pi­cious attached to the ATM. If something is detected, the affected machine can even shut itself down.
• Analyze the magnetic field: Some anti-skimming systems work with induction coils that measure the magnetic field in the card slot area, allowing them to detect changes made by skimming devices.

It is important to always be vigilant and take various pre­cau­tion­ary measures to prevent your card data from being stolen:

• Hide your PIN: Cover the keypad with your hand when entering your PIN.
• Be vigilant: Look out for anything sus­pi­cious on the ATM or payment terminal, for example, loose or unusually large card slots or other strange at­tach­ments.
• Check your account regularly: Check your account state­ments often and inform your bank im­me­di­ate­ly if you notice any un­ex­plained with­drawals or trans­ac­tions.
• Update your card: If possible, use an EMV chip card, as these are more difficult to copy than magnetic strip cards.
• Pay con­tact­less: Use con­tact­less cards or mobile payment apps such as Google Pay to reduce the risk of falling victim to skimming fraud.
• Avoid public Wi-Fi: Be careful when using public Wi-Fi, as it could be used by criminals to access your card details.

How do you know if you have fallen victim to skimming fraud?

It can sometimes be difficult to know if you’ve been affected by skimming, however, there are some signs you can look out for. It is essential that you check your bank state­ments regularly. Unknown and un­ex­plained with­drawals are a sure sign of skimming or that someone has accessed your account without your per­mis­sion. In addition, if online purchases have been made that you know nothing about, this may also indicate that you have fallen victim to skimming.

What should you do if skimming happens to you?

If you suspect that you are a victim of skimming, you should act quickly. Unusual activity is often au­to­mat­i­cal­ly detected by banks’ security systems, but if you notice any sus­pi­cious activity that you think the system hasn’t picked up on, you should inform your bank im­me­di­ate­ly. This can help to limit the financial damage and increase the like­li­hood of every­thing being resolved. In addition, you should also take the following steps:

• Block your card: This is the first and most important step. Contact your bank or credit card company im­me­di­ate­ly to have your card blocked. Most banks offer a 24-hour hotline for this purpose.
• Press charges: Report credit card fraud to the police. This will help the pros­e­cut­ing au­thor­i­ties identify the per­pe­tra­tors and can help you get legal support.
• Change your passwords: If you suspect that other personal data has also been stolen, you should im­me­di­ate­ly change important passwords, es­pe­cial­ly those that you use for online banking. Using a one-time password (OTP) is a good idea for better pro­tec­tion.
• Use pre­ven­tive measures: Consider how you can prevent future skimming attempts. This could mean using con­tact­less payment methods, regularly checking ATMs before using them or setting up trans­ac­tion alerts.

Even if the incident has been resolved, you should remain vigilant. Skimming fraud is just one of many scams, along with phishing and other types of online fraud. Being extra vigilant can help protect you from losing money in the future.