ATMs are under siege more than ever from skimming: 4 tips to protect you from ATM thieves

ATMs are under siege more than ever from skimming. Skimming, where ATM thieves steal your PIN and account number using remote devices, is increasing dramatically. Often done by sophisticated crime rings from the Eastern bloc countries, ATM skimming is becoming a high-tech art that’s hard to detect.

That’s bad news for consumers. Experts say that losses from skimming are approaching $1 billion. Nearly one in five fraud victims reported having their credit card PIN or debit card ATM PIN information stolen in 2009, according to Javelin Strategy & Research. And Robert Vamosi, an analyst handling risk, fraud and security at Javelin, sees ATM skimming continuing to rise this year and next.

“Consumers aren’t aware of ATM tampering,” he says. “ATMs have 40 years of trust.”

Skimming isn’t new. It’s been around for at least 10 years. What has changed is that the “technology of the bad guy is getting better and better every year,” says Robert Siciliano, a security expert based in Boston. “It’s up to consumers to watch their own backs.”

Typically, ATM thieves use two devices to capture your PIN and card data. One device sits near where you swipe your card and reads the magnetic stripe on your card with your account number. Even more confusing, the device mimics the card slot. “The technology has evolved to a point where the molded plastic fits like it belongs there,” says Siciliano. Devices are even readily available over the Internet for as little as $300.

A camera, hidden from view, captures the PIN. “You can get the data in real time,” says Siciliano. “You can be in your car with a laptop remotely accessing the device.”

Thieves then burn the data onto a blank card to access your money.

U.S. Secret Service spokesman Max Milien wants consumers to be warned. “The public is notified after an event,” he says. And don’t take bank security for granted. Fraud can occur at any bank in any part of the country. Thieves are even sending out false text alerts to get consumer data.

Banks, they say, are slow to adopt anti-skimming measures. When Javelin surveyed 25 banks, four stood out, though, for their anti-theft measures. They are Bank of America, Chase, Citibank and Wells Fargo.

Experts add that debit card users are most at risk. Typically, consumers must report fraudulent charges within two days, limiting your liability to $50. If you report ATM skimming fraud within 60 days, you’re liable for the first $500 of any transaction. Siciliano adds that thieves carefully orchestrate ATM withdrawals, maxing out cash withdrawals one day and waiting until after midnight for the next stash, which quickly adds up.

Here are four tips to help you protect your account.

1. Cover your password with your hand
Hidden cameras are disguised so they can pick up your password. By protecting it, ATM thieves can’t access your account.
2. Use familiar ATMs and limit your visits
ATMs in dimly lighted spots or used late at night could be more susceptible to fraud, while ATMs under video surveillance can be safer. Stay away from ATMs at retail stores or restaurants, adds Siciliano. Recently, skimming devices were found on ATMs in a popular grocery store in central Florida. Airports, convenience stores or kiosks are equally vulnerable to ATM thieves. Still, even highly trafficked ATMs outside a bank branch have been targeted by thieves.

Also, try to limit your visits to the ATM. “With frequency, there’s risk,” says Siciliano.

3. Check bank balances frequently

Given the two-day window for reporting fraud, it pays to check your account frequently. If you don’t report fraud within 60 days, you have unlimited liability. “Sign up for alerts and notice unusual withdrawals,” says Vamosi.

With credit cards there are more protections in place, and you can dispute charges.”You have at least a billing cycle,” says Siciliano.

4. Observe the ATM
Vamosi cautions consumers to look at an ATM to make sure a card slot is “legitimate and not tacked on.” Look for things that strike you, he says. “Some people have felt that when they inserted their card, something went awry,” he says. In that case, try another ATM.

When protecting your account against ATM thieves, “it’s all about awareness, paying attention and understanding risks,” says Sicilano. “There are 400,000 ATMs and every one of them is susceptible to fraud. The speed and convenience of technology has replaced the security of technology.”

Source: Yahoo

7 Things to Stop Doing Now on Facebook

by Consumer Reports Magazine
Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Using a Weak Password

Avoid simple names or words you can find in a dictionary, even with numbers tacked on the end. Instead, mix upper- and lower-case letters, numbers, and symbols. A password should have at least eight characters. One good technique is to insert numbers or symbols in the middle of a word, such as this variant on the word “houses”: hO27usEs!

Leaving Your Full Birth Date in Your Profile

It’s an ideal target for identity thieves, who could use it to obtain more information about you and potentially gain access to your bank or credit card account. If you’ve already entered a birth date, go to your profile page and click on the Info tab, then on Edit Information. Under the Basic Information section, choose to show only the month and day or no birthday at all.

Overlooking Useful Privacy Controls

For almost everything in your Facebook profile, you can limit access to only your friends, friends of friends, or yourself. Restrict access to photos, birth date, religious views, and family information, among other things. You can give only certain people or groups access to items such as photos, or block particular people from seeing them. Consider leaving out contact info, such as phone number and address, since you probably don’t want anyone to have access to that information anyway. 

Posting Your Child’s Name in a Caption

Don’t use a child’s name in photo tags or captions. If someone else does, delete it by clicking on Remove Tag. If your child isn’t on Facebook and someone includes his or her name in a caption, ask that person to remove the name.

Mentioning That You’ll Be Away From Home

That’s like putting a “no one’s home” sign on your door. Wait until you get home to tell everyone how awesome your vacation was and be vague about the date of any trip.

Letting Search Engines Find You

To help prevent strangers from accessing your page, go to the Search section of Facebook’s privacy controls and select Only Friends for Facebook search results. Be sure the box for public search results isn’t checked.

Permitting Youngsters to Use Facebook Unsupervised

Facebook limits its members to ages 13 and over, but children younger than that do use it. If you have a young child or teenager on Facebook, the best way to provide oversight is to become one of their online friends. Use your e-mail address as the contact for their account so that you receive their notifications and monitor their activities. “What they think is nothing can actually be pretty serious,” says Charles Pavelites, a supervisory special agent at the Internet Crime Complaint Center. For example, a child who posts the comment “Mom will be home soon, I need to do the dishes” every day at the same time is revealing too much about the parents’ regular comings and goings

Source: Yahoo

Child ID Theft on the Rise

SCNow.com reported recent statistics from the S.C. Department of Consumer Affairs that show that infants and child identity theft is one of the fastest growing segments of identity theft in the nation.

Gmail Adds Anti-phishing Tool

According to MXLogic.com, Google users can get visual verification of the authenticity of emails from PayPal and eBay by turning on the authentication icon from the Labs tab under settings. You’ll then see an icon that looks like a key to emails from these verified senders.

Gmail spam expert Brad Taylor said that Google added extra protection last year for PayPal and eBay emails due to the high volume of phishing attacks targeting online payments from these services.

“We do that by looking at the ‘From’ header and when it says ‘ebay.com’ for example, it means it really did come from ebay.com. Anything else is rejected; it won’t even appear in your spam folder because Gmail won’t accept it,” Taylor wrote on Google’s blog.

With the addition of the key icon, Gmail users get the visual confirmation that the emails have been verified as “super-trustworthy,” Taylor said.

The anti-phishing verification is limited to just eBay and PayPal right now, but Google hopes to add more senders to the pool of super-trustworthy email.

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Countrywide Data Breach

Data Loss Source: As many as 2 million Countrywide customers may be at risk thanks to a data breach that lasted for nearly two years. A former Countrywide employee was arrested on August 1 and charged with illegally accessing the lender?s records to sell sales leads to mortgage brokers.
Date of Breach: Sept. 11, 2008
Size of Loss : 2,000,000
Affected Individuals: Countrywide customers
Geographic Focus: Nationwide
Data contained: Names, addresses, Social Security numbers, and loan details
Additional Notes: The company promised to provide two years of free credit monitoring to affected individuals.
Additional Information: Consumer Affairs

Voter Registration Scams Lead to Identity Theft

Kansas Attorney General Steve Six issued a warning about voter registration scams, according to Kake 10. A number of people have reported receiving unsolicited emails or calls requesting Social Security numbers or credit card numbers to confirm voter registration eligibility.

Here?s how it works: Identity thieves send messages asking for your Social Security number or financial information to register you to vote or to confirm your registration. If you hand over this information, they use it to commit fraud.

Such scams have been reported in many states across the U.S.

It is important to understand that legitimate voter registration drives will either contact you in person or give you a voter registration form that you fill out yourself. They will never ask you to provide your financial information.

If you want to register to vote, do it the safe way. Simply contact the county election office in the county you live or fill out the Voter Registration Form online and return it to your county?s election officer.

Spyware and Keylogging Now Felonies

According to InformationWeek, Congress passed a bill this week would make it a felony to use spyware or keystroke loggers to damage ten or more computers.

The U.S. House of Representatives approved H.R. 5938, an amendment that expands the ability of the federal government to prosecute identity theft crimes and allows victims to obtain restitution for the time and money they spend trying to restore their credit. The legislation, which must be signed by President George W. Bush, allows a fine and up to five years imprisonment for spyware.

This closes a gap in existing identity theft laws that only allowed federal prosecution if the perpetrator used interstate or foreign communications to access a computer, except in cases involving federal government computers or financial institutions. If the President signs the bill into law, federal prosecutors would be able to pursue cases in which the computers of the perpetrator and victim are in the same jurisdiction.

Social Security Numbers Posted Online

Data Loss Source: Detailed public land records were published on a Web site sponsored by Iowa elected officials.
Date of Breach: Sept. 3, 2008
Size of Loss : Unknown
Affected Individuals: Land owners
Geographic Focus: Des Moines
Data contained: Private information was posted on the site, including Social Security numbers for Gov. Chet Culver and Secretary of State Michael Mauro.
Additional Notes: All the records with personal information that can be used in identity theft be immediately removed.
Additional Information: Des Moines Register

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