$1 Million ATM Fraud Scam Busted

Zoweee!  Some key aspects in this article. 

http://www.cuinfosecurity.com/articles.php?art_id=4274

First, ONE DAY of skimming yielded about 350K in losses.  A single Sunday the criminals used a skimmer and pinhole camera to collect just 350 acct and pin numbers.  Then they pulled about 1000 from each account.

Second, in many of these cases, it's the CUSTOMERS bringing attention to the cases, not the banks or law enforcement folks who solve the crime.  Interesting that we are still relying on ourselves to solve this type of crime.  Be very observant when you use your ATM machines.

Finally, it seems, according to the article that there is an explosion of ATM Skimming crimes with no real end in site.  The crimes are small enough that legislation to combat the problem wont be reviewed for a long time.  This means the problems will persist.

3 Charged With 6-State Spree Linked to $550K in Fraud

Good article from CUInfoSecurity.com on another recent update in teh war on ATM Skimming.  Three separate individuals brought up on charges.

Here's the whole story...

http://www.cuinfosecurity.com/articles.php?art_id=4031

ATM and Gas Pump Skimming - On the Rise?

Maybe its just me,  but it seems there has been a rise in the number of Skimming cases across the US in recent months. 

May 2009 - New York - Estimated 500K USD lost due to skimming devices
Sept 2010 - South Florida - ATM and Gas pumps found with devices
July 2011 - Houston, TX - 400K ATM Skimming Scam
July 2011 - Global ATM Skimming Ring Busted
Aug 2011 - Sacramento, CA - 2 men facing charges of ATM Skimming
Sept 2011 - Tampa Bay, FL - approx 44 customers defrauded at area ATMs
Sept 2011 - Seattle, WA - 3 Charged With 6-State Spree Linked to $550K in Fraud


There are of course many more than these, but it seems to be an increasing issue in the field.  Some would estimate the problem of Card Fraud totaling over 2 BILLION dollars in recent interviews.  This number is staggering considering the limited effort ATM manufacturers have put toward actually solving the problem.  Some have attempted to correct the problem by adding jitter technology into the machines themselves, which can be a costly effort to outfit legacy machines. Others take a more unintrusive route with a combination of detection and jamming devices.  Each has ways of providing parts of the solution, but it still seems pieces are lacking.