comitan - 1-27-2009 at 10:11 AM
Check out this site.
http://fraudwar.blogspot.com/2005/09/atm-machines-that-clone...
Woooosh - 1-27-2009 at 10:33 AM
another reason to NEVER use a debit card except at your bank branch. Your account can get wiped out completelty from a debit card- not the same
protections as using a credit card.
The skimming machines they install with double-sided tape in seconds over top of the legit machines at AM/PM's and 7-11 are notorius. The Today show
set up a fake machine and people used it right away.
I set a $500 per day limit on all my debit and credit card cash withdrawals. At least that will slow them down and I have a bettter chance of catching
it.
I was 'hit' at an ARCO AM/PM gas station...
Mexray - 1-27-2009 at 12:26 PM
...in Sacramento, where there is a large Russian Immigrant population.
This was three years ago, and about a week before we were leaving for Baja. Either the crooks had some kind of skimmer, or a savvy employee with
access to the data, never did find out which...I've seen pictures of 'skimmers' before, and thought I'd recognize it if I ran into one...I don't
remember any 'abnormal' looking device at that station, so don't know it was an 'inside' job or not...?
They sent our card data to Russia, where someone charged at two different cities, hundreds of miles apart, on the same day (while we were in Baja),
till our account was 'drained'!
We didn't find out till our return three weeks later, as we didn't use our card in Baja, and didn't access our balance info.
We filed reports with our local authorities, and of course with our bank, and had to change our accounts. We eventually had our money returned
(several 1000's) to us as the bank was able to retrieve the funds from MasterCard...I'll bet there was a couple of PO'ed stores in Russia that got
back-billed for those charges!
What irritated us most of all, was that there were apparently no software controls in the system to 'question' these multiple charges, on the same
day, hundreds of miles apart, in a foreign country!...we most certainly weren't the first ones to be 'hit' in this manner, in these areas...you'd
think these Card Companies would be a bit more sophisticated with their foreign transactions...???
The next time we went back to that ARCO station in Sacto, we found that they had installed 'blinders' on either side of the key pad to aid in hiding
the area during PIN entries....!
I still use cards, but I sure as hell try to hide my PIN entries, and always take a look around when doing so...
I also don't keep much money in my 'card' accounts to limit any real 'hits'
again...
It's a cruel world out there where the 'baddies' hang out!