Considering how often hackers target financial credentials like credit card numbers and expiration dates, it’s not surprising that ATMs can provide a wealth of information to them. Hackers are willing to go exceedingly far just to get their hands on these credentials--including physically altering the devices themselves to install skimmers and other technology on them. Unless you know what to look for, it can be difficult to tell if a machine has been tampered with.
For example, this news article from this past July shows a rather troublesome case of ATM skimming. The device used is a piece of plastic that slips right over the ATM card reader, and it’s designed to do so without being seen by the user. If you’re not paying attention, you could accidentally expose your credentials directly to the hacker.
There are a considerable amount of cases that involve a hacker installing custom hardware onto ATMs that can wirelessly transmit credentials, who might be lurking somewhere nearby. They can then harvest credentials at their leisure.
What would you do if you took a look at your bank account and found that you no longer have a balance in your checking account? What if you wound up going into debt because of this? What if someone has stolen your identity and is making purchases in foreign countries? The best way to keep this from happening is to be careful of ATM skimmers in the first place. Keep the following tips in mind when using an ATM.
What do you think about ATM skimmers? Do you think you can identify threats to your financial credentials? To learn more, reach out to us at 561-795-2000.