How Skimming, Shimming and Jugging Can Rob You Blind

 By Catherine Powell

Image courtesy Pxhere

I'm old enough to be able to remember a time when everyone had to go to the bank to make a deposit or withdraw money from their account.  Then came the 1980's, which introduced everyone to the Automated Teller Machine that made depositing a check or receiving cash a breeze.  Forty years later, ATMs can be found everywhere from shopping malls to parking lots.  All it takes is a debit card and a PIN to safely access your funds anywhere anytime of the day or night.  What could be more convenient?  The trouble is that this convenience can cost you big if you aren't careful.  The same technology that provides consumers with instant cash can turn an ATM into an opportunity to rob you blind.  If you don't want to find your hard earned money taken from you, you need to learn how thieves can turn any ATM into an instant payday.

The Perils of Skimmers and Shimmers

Skimmers have been around for more than a decade.  These craftily designed devices are disguised to look like a debit or credit card reader.  The skimmer is placed over a legitimate card reader in order to collect data such as card numbers and PINs.  These illicit devices are commonly found at gas pumps and ATMs.  When you slide your card into a skimmer, it allows you to conduct a transaction while thieves record the information stored on the magnetic strip on the back of the card.  Some skimmers also include a tiny pinhole camera designed to capture your personal identification number as well.  Some thieves have even been known to install a false PIN pad over the legitimate one in order to record every keystroke to get the PIN.  Armed with this information, all high-tech thieves have to do is create a clone of your debit card that will allow them to get cash at scads of ATMs located across town.  By the time you notice the illicit activity, the thieves may have cost you thousands of dollars or even drained your account dry.

The best way to avoid skimmers is to learn how to spot them. One of the best ways to do this is to grasp both the card slot and the keypad and give them a wiggle.  Since both these components should be fixed to the ATM, any give indicates a skimmer is in use.  (Report this to the authorities immediately.)  Also look for the installation of any hidden cameras that are pointed at the unit's keypad.  These are designed to record the PIN being entered when anyone makes a transaction.  If you detect any of these devices after the fact, call your bank immediately to alert them that your debit card has been compromised.  The bank will cancel your card and issue you a new one.

Image courtesy Pixabay

As opposed to skimmers, shimmers are a new threat that are all but impossible to detect.  That's because as opposed to a skimmer, shimmers are installed inside the ATM itself and are all but invisible. The devices are little more than an integrated circuit printed on a wafer thin piece of metal or plastic.  Inserted inside the card slot, shimmers are designed to allow victims to complete a transaction without realizing their card data is being read surreptitiously.  Odds are you won't be able to detect a shimmer since it's not visible outside the ATM machine.

What are the banks doing to thwart skimmers? - When US banks realized the credit and debit cards they issued were vulnerable to skimming, they started issuing chip cards that purportedly offered more robust  security than traditional cards.  They also offered the user the ability to tap to pay instead of having to swipe the card which otherwise makes them vulnerable to skimmers and shimmers.  While chip cards have reduced the incidence of fraudulent activity, they haven't eliminated it entirely.  With the right tools, techno-thieves can still extract the data from the chip by using a shimmer and use the data to create a magnetic strip version of the same card.  Another vulnerability of chip cards is that they emit a radio signal that can be intercepted and decoded by someone standing close to the card using a scanner.  

What can you do to protect yourself?

1. Keep your chip cards in an RFID sleeve or wallet to prevent someone from scanning them.

2. Always tap instead of inserting your card to thwart skimmers and shimmers. (Make sure you close the account before you walk away.  If you don't, the next person in line will be able to make a withdrawal.)

3. Always cover the keypad before entering your PIN.  

4. Never assume that an ATM outside a bank is invulnerable to skimmers and shimmers.  Either device can be installed in about a minute by thieves.

5. Activate alerts for your credit and debit cards.  This way anytime they are used you will receive a text letting you know about it in real time.

What's the difference between mugging and Jugging?

Image courtesy Pixabay

Anyone who uses an ATM realizes they risk being mugged as soon as the transaction takes place.  If the robbery takes place in a public space like a parking lot or in front of the bank itself this makes the thieves vulnerable to being thwarted by having their picture taken by cameras located in the parking lot or on the ATM itself.  That's why cagey crooks have resorted to following their victims to another location including their home before robbing them in what has become known as jugging.  In one recent case, a bank customer was threatened with a pistol who used it to bang on his window to demand money when he pulled into his driveway.  Fortunately for him, he threw his car into reverse and was able to speed away before the thief was able to react.

The three best ways to avoid Jugging;

1. Be aware of anyone hanging around an ATM.

2. Immediately lock your car door as soon as you climb back in your vehicle.

3.  Check to be sure your vehicle isn't being followed anytime you make an ATM withdrawal. (If you are being followed, call 911 or drive to the closest police station.)

Catherine Powell is the owner of A Plus All Florida, Insurance in Orange Park, Florida.  To find out more ways to save on flood insurance, check out her website at http://aplusallfloridainsuranceinc.com/