Credit card "skimmers"

[sl8]

This is one of the more recently reported cases, but Google turns up a lot more.

Texas Woman's Video Of Busting Credit Card Skimmer Goes Viral

61K Likes
6,157,220 Views
Mar 28 2022

A Texas woman’s TikTok video of her busting a credit card skimmer at a 7-Eleven has gone viral. NBC News’ Morgan Chesky meets with the woman to discuss how she was able to detect the scam.

[...]

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https://www.forbes.com/advisor/credit-cards/how-to-spot-a-credit-card-skimmer/

How To Spot A Credit Card Skimmer

[brush]

1. Smart lady. She figured it out and got the word out...

on these scammers...and got her money back.

Also the analyst in the video mentioned that cards with the chip in them where you insert the card offer more protection against this scam than the cards that are swiped.

[LonePirate]

2. Wouldn't the 7-11 have a camera pointed at that very location to see who installed it?

The lack of a comment from the store owners/franchisees (not the 7-11 parent company) is quite interesting.

[tanyev]

3. Wow, right inside the store.

I wonder if one of the clerks was in on it.

[lagomorph777]

6. No, the clerks were not in on it.

Surveillance video shows a couple entering the store. The woman distracts the clerk while the guy slips the skimmer in place.

My bank just sent me my new skimmable cards. I am not going to activate them; will ask for cards with no RFID. If they can't provide that, I'll switch banks.

[tanyev]

7. Just that fast, huh? Crazy.

[genxlib]

8. Maybe I am mistaken

But my understanding is that the RFID are more secure. It is the magnetic stripe that is being skimmed with these scams

[lagomorph777]

9. Nope. The skimmers are grabbing the RFID.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RFID_skimming

How RFID skimming is performed
Modern payment cards have a built in chip that transmits the cards' information wirelessly. This is because it is necessary in order to enable contactless payments, which has become increasingly popular during recent years.[1] Criminals can take advantage of this new technology by using a scanner that wirelessly scans the victim's payment card in the same way that a cash register scans it, when making a contactless payment. These scanners are legal and can be bought in regular electronics stores.

RFID is a goldmine for criminals.

[CaptainTruth]

12. Of course you don't have to use the RFID, just insert the card...

...so the chip is read directly, not wirelessly.

Although I would think that if anyone is smart enough to design a good skimmer it will read the card no matter how it's used, magnetic strip, RFID, or inserted (direct chip read).

[lagomorph777]

13. Right, you don't have to use the RFID to get skimmed.

Just insert the card, and it is close enough to the skimmer to do the job.

I need to get those skimmable cards replaced with safe ones. I won't be activating the skimmable ones.

[Polybius]

15. My solution is best:

Just pay cash. All of my cards have a chip, but only two are RFID. I keep them at home.

[lagomorph777]

16. Can't do that at the warehouse club gas stations.

(Even if I wanted to start carrying cash during a pandemic).

The chip cards are fine. Just need to avoid the RFID cards.

[hlthe2b]

4. Happened to me at an outside gas pump at a very nice Safeway in northern Colorado at Thanksgiving

three years ago. Though the booth employee supposedly scans for skimmers every morning, I had the alarming experience of a call late on Thanksgiving evening from my credit union fraud group informing me my card had been hacked and was being used online. While they did immediately put a hold on it after calling me and I followed up with Target and some of the other online retailers who had accepted the card, it was a very trying holiday weekend, as I had little cash on me. My credit union was great and got the funds reversed back to me within the week and a new card that Monday morning, but I now NEVER swipe a card at an outside ATM or gas pump--using cash, instead. I do have chips in my cards now, but I'm still quite wary. I was told that some of the self-checkouts inside busy poorly observed stores (Sam's, Walmart, and others) had been targeted and this woman's account proves that.

Be careful. The consequences of this kind of crime can be "reversed," but it takes a lot of time to deal with and creates untold headaches. I did however get to spend an interesting time with Target's national security group supervisor(by phone on Thanksgiving evening, no less) who gave me some startling statistics and very useful tips on avoiding some of this (paying cash at the gas pumps is one of his most emphatic tips). He'd been called into the corporate offices on a holiday for something far more consequential but seemingly enjoyed sharing his experiences. I paid attention.

[Midnight Writer]

10. Got me at a major chain bookstore.

Fortunately, the bank caught it almost immediately, notified me, sent me a new card, and I was made whole.

[dalton99a]

5. Some gas station/convenience store owners are not above using the skimmers to steal your money

The devices are installed with the security cameras "accidentally" turned off to avoid incriminating themselves

[Historic NY]

11. The manager knows or an employee knows...

its an inside job with someone cooperating with the skimmer. That thing was barely on.

[lagomorph777]

14. The store loses a lot of business when this happens.

It wouldn't be worth the risk.

In this particular case, the crime is on video and it's clear the clerk was tricked.