There’s a lot of talk in the air about Nigeria being a cashless society, but the fact remains that a sizeable number of the populace still depends on cash-based transactions. Facilitating this cash dependence is the use of ATMs, which Statista reports that in 2019, roughly 840 million ATM transactions were registered in Nigeria. The popular usage of ATMs has not been lost on criminals as they have devised several ways to attack and defraud ATM users. One such popular method is called skimming.
ATM Skimming is a type of ATM fraud associated with debit and credit cards. This aim is to capture card information such as cardholder name, credit/debit card number, expiry date, and card PIN amongst others, and to transfer these onto a computer system for the purpose of creating cloned credit/debit cards. Below are the types and/or variations of ATM Skimming.
Card Reader Skimmers
In this scenario, a device is fastened in close proximity to, or over the top of the ATM’s factory-installed card reader to read information from the card. To acquire full access to the customer’s account, not only the card number is essential, but the PIN code is required too. Hence, a minute spy camera or fake keypad is used to capture PIN details, see the pictures below.
Shimmers
In this scenario, a paper-thin device is inserted in the ATM’s card slot, where it sits between the card and the ATM’s chip reader. The device called a shimmer records data from the card chip while the machine’s chip reader is reading it. Unlike earlier skimming devices, shimmers can be virtually invisible if inserted perfectly, making them difficult to detect. However, a tight card slot could be an indication that a shimmer has been installed.
Evil ATM Machine
In this scenario, a barely functional ATM is rigged and set up in a public place. These ATMs do not dispense cash and are configured to capture the details of any card inserted.
How to Protect Yourself
Below are a few steps you should follow to protect yourself from ATM Skimming:
Always use an ATM that is well lit, where passers-by can see it, and it has a CCTV camera pointed at it.
Inspect the ATM and familiarize yourself with the look and feel of the ATM fascia on the machine in order to detect unusual or non-standard appearance. A blocked card slot, loose card slot, loose PIN pad, and an enormous card slit are indications that an ATM machine has been tampered with.
Tug on the card reader, cash dispenser and PIN pad to make sure there are no extra devices attached.
Do not disclose your pin to anyone, and cover the keypad when entering your pin.
Contributors:
Jonathan Ayodele
Anthony Anugwo
Oluwadamilola Bamigbose