How ATM Skimmers Work

Much like most virtual hacks, some clever people create a very sophisticated tool and a bunch of amateurs (or crime syndicates) use them to commit fraud. Hardware hacks, like this ATM skimmer are generally more difficult to obtain, expensive, and can’t be copied and shared as easily as a computer program.

ATM skimmers like those shown in the video require a camera set up to see you PIN as you enter it. Aside from the obvious advice or not using and ATMs with wires or protruding panels, they recommend shielding the number pad as you enter in your PIN code. I’d add going inside of a bank to withdraw cash when at all possible, but now a days most debit cards double as credit cards and your PIN is pretty useless. The crooks can just take the card number swiped from the magnetic strip to go shopping online or sell to someone else.