In the News

Skimming Attacks are Going Deeper and Your Current Equipment Probably Can’t Stop Them

Skimming attacks are not a new threat to credit unions, but criminals responsible for a wave of new “Deep Insert Skimmers” in the U.S. are circumventing the typical safeguards that financial institutions employ simply by attaching their devices deeper inside of motorized card readers.

According to NCR, these new skimmers are placed further inside the card slot - so deep that they are out of range of anti-skimming equipment like jammers that are designed to stop devices attached on or near the fascia. NCR is working on a hardware upgrade to combat these new devices, but currently there are very few products available to completely stop deep insert skimmers.


Products that inhibit the placement of skimmers do offer some protection, but the countermeasure having the most success in stopping deep insert skimmers is TMD’s CPP Kit. FTSI usually recommends the TMD Card Protection Kit as the industry standard to help protect against traditional skimming attacks, but its effectiveness against deep skimming attacks has been a bonus.

“Deep insert skimming is the biggest skimming threat facing the global ATM industry,” says Tom Moore, Managing Director, TMD Security North America. “Current anti-skimming solutions are not designed to protect against deep insert skimming.”  

 

If you are unable to use a product like TMD’s, the best course of action is to increase surveillance and inspection of ATMs by trained personnel. NCR recommends financial institutions train their personnel to spot skimmers by using their Fraud Inspection Guide.

FTSI reminds you to always keep an eye out for suspicious persons loitering near your ATMs and if you suspect your ATM has been tampered with or attacked, please call the local authorities first as criminals may still be nearby.