Why You Should Cover The Keypad When Using an ATM
You may already be aware of the practice of "card skimming," wherein thieves use hidden cameras and magnetic strip-readers to steal ATM customers' PIN number and card information. Here's a fascinating video taken from one of those hidden cameras.
In the video, you see the thieves fit the pinhole camera to the top of the ATM, then attach a skimmer to the card-reader. The skimmer is a device camouflaged to look like a normal reader, but it steals customers' card information when they swipe. Then you see customers cluelessly pounding in their PINs. (Though some cover up the keypad—nice going!)
According to Wired, the video was seized by police in the UK. But card skimming operations are becoming increasingly common in the US, too. Last year, a group of four Romanians stole $1.8 million from New York ATM customers in a skimming operation.
We always thought people who covered the keypad when typing in their PIN and gave the ATM a once-over before using it were paranoid freaks. Guess they'll have the last laugh when we find our account's been emptied by a Central European crime syndicate.