[LINK] ATM skimmers go wifi

[Jan Whitaker]

http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,22989888-5006364,00.html
ATM scams get hi-tech
Article from: AAP
December 31, 2007 09:30am

CRIMINALS are using wireless technology to skim personal 
identification numbers from bank cards at ATMs while sitting up to 100m away.

Police say wireless keypad overlays are being used on ATMs in the 
latest international scam expected to hit Australian shores soon.

The keypads instantly transmit a person's secret PIN to a nearby 
laptop, replacing traditional skimming devices which were attached to ATMs.

"Under the old technology if they lost the skimming machine because 
it was detected or they could not retrieve it, they lost all the 
data,'' Detective Superintendent Brian Hay of Queensland police said.

"Now, they can retain the information collected between the time the 
device is put on the ATM and when it is collected or compromised.''

Supt Hay said the new technology also meant skimmers no longer needed 
to install spy cameras on ATMs to record PINs.

"All the card data is transmitted to their laptops while they're 
having a cup of coffee up to 100m away,'' he said.

"They design the keypad overlays for specific types of ATMs so it 
makes them very difficult to detect.''

Police found the technology could be bought on the internet from 
black market websites.

"There is no evidence yet of the wireless technology being used in 
Australia but we know they are trading on the Internet,'' he said.

"We know the technology is out there and crooks can buy it so it will 
be inevitable it will happen here.''



Jan Whitaker
JLWhitaker Associates, Melbourne Victoria
jwhit at janwhitaker.com
business: http://www.janwhitaker.com
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