New Type of Mini-Skimmer Found in Europe


Userlevel 7
By Eduard Kovacs on July 08, 2014
 
ATM skimming is still a problem in Europe, a not-for-profit organization that specializes in ATM security said in a report published on Friday.
The report from the European ATM Security Team (EAST) is based on information provided by the representatives of 22 countries at the 33rd EAST meeting held at Europol's European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) in June.
Of the 19 Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) and three non-SEPA countries, 18 saw instances of ATM skimming, with six of the respondents reporting increases and four reporting decreases in the number of incidents.
According to EAST, one country reported spotting new types of mini-skimmers that are designed to fit inside an ATM card reader to make them more difficult to detect.
 


 
SecurityWeek/ Full Read Here/ http://www.securityweek.com/new-type-mini-skimmer-found-europe

18 replies

Would have been a fascinating article if we were able to see a decent picture of the skimmer on a white background rather than grey, and the picture were larger.
 
It was virtually impossible ti see any detail of the unit.
Userlevel 7
Badge +56
Good point - that article only has the one photo.  This one has a few more that are a bit larger:
http://gizmodo.com/the-latest-long-life-super-thin-atm-skimmers-are-virtu-1601076751
Userlevel 7
Hopefully this a little better pic
 


 
I attempted to take the smaller image which I enlarged and tried to get more detail out of it.
 
Userlevel 6
@ wrote:


 
I attempted to take the smaller image which I enlarged and tried to get more detail out of it.
 
Welcome to the community Bob 21! Nice to have you!
 
We will be able to see your image after a moderator approves it. That will be soon!
 
In the meantime, browse around and enjoy the community!
 
Check out the Webroot VIP program. When you reach Commuity Guide, you will have the ability to post images bypassing moderator approval. It is a very program.
 
Come often and share your experiences!
 
Beth
 
 
Userlevel 7
Badge +56
Here's another good article explaining skimming and how to avoid it:
http://www.engadget.com/2014/07/28/credit-card-skimming-explainer/
Userlevel 7
Badge +56
Here's an article on the thinnest ATM scanner yet:
 
An increasing number of ATM skimmers targeting banks and consumers appear to be of the razor-thin insert variety. These card-skimming devices are made to fit snugly and invisibly inside the throat of the card acceptance slot. Here’s a look at a stealthy new model of insert skimmer pulled from a cash machine in southern Europe just this past week.
 
Full article here.
 

Userlevel 7
Great article nic ....... the way these hackers are developing these mini skimmer the banks must come up with a better security option to offset this. or ATM may be of the past.
Userlevel 7
Badge +56
Agreed - at the very least there should be some sort of anti-skim technology on the ATMs to disable or alert you when something has been added to it.  
Userlevel 7
Good point nic in fact if the banks could developer a alarm when the hacker places the skimmer in place it would disable the skimmer as well as take a picture of the hacker. Now in most cases we know the camera is right over the machine....and so does the hacker so................have 2 other camera's HD placed on either side of the bank to photo the hacker.
Userlevel 1
Hi guys!
 
I'm new here, but I found this interesting thread and thought that I have to share some facts about skimming.
Because I wrote my master thesis about ATM security - the thesis is titled: ATM Security - Case Study of a Logical Risk Assessment - I conducted a literature review on logcial ATM threats and found this article: http://krebsonsecurity.com/2014/05/thieves-planted-malware-to-hack-atms/
 
This article shows that skimming now reaches a new level. Hackers don't need a physical device inside the card reader they can use control plates to implant skimming malware on a card reader. Consequently, a control mechanism that identifies illegally attached devices is not sufficient because this skimming approach manipulates the software (firmware) running on the card reader.
 
As a solution, there must be a countermeasure in place that raises an alert when the card reader gets logically manipulated.
 
Johannes
 
Btw: I'm a new employee at the Webroot team in Linz. :)
 
Userlevel 6
Hi @!
Welcome to the Community; it's great to have you here :)
I didn't know that Webroot has an office (or R&D Center) in Linz.
Userlevel 1
Hi@regnor,

yes, webroot openend an office in Linz, Austria in 2010.
(official statement: http://www.webroot.com/us/en/company/press-room/releases/webroot-opens-r-and-d-center-in-upper-austria)

Now, we are a team of 10 highly motivated employees. 🙂
Userlevel 6
Good to know; you're almost in my near neighborhood.
Ok, there are about 200km between us but it's still the nearest Webroot Office 😉
Userlevel 7
Badge +54
Hi and welcome to the Community @ it is good to have you here and that is a very interesting pint you have raised.
Userlevel 7
Badge +62
Welcome! Welcome to the Community Forum jbraeuer! Awesome to have you here! ;)

Thanks for the information and Article as well! Hope to see you pop in here a lot ! Right?

Salute'
Userlevel 7
Welcome jbraeuer glad to have you here, enjoy the forum
Userlevel 7
Badge +56
Welcome to the Community Johannes it's nice to ge to know more and more Webroot Staff!
 
Cheers,
 
Daniel ;)
 

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