It looks like a simple spy gadget: A pinhead-sized camera, a miniature battery, and a closed circuit. And yet, it's nothing more than the tool that criminals place in ATMs and empty bank accounts.
According to the Daily Mail report, the new way that gangs of robbers have found to steal money from ATMs is extremely simple: It relies on a mobile phone camera, which, after being removed from the device and adapted appropriately, is placed under a fake panel above the ATM keyboard. This camera secretly records the movements of unsuspecting customers as they type in their PINs.
The mechanism they "hide" behind the fake panel
The video recording is then used by gang members in conjunction with another device placed above the card slot which can either trap it or make a fake copy of it, giving the fraudsters all the information they need to empty the accounts of unsuspecting depositors.
A similar but slightly more sophisticated method of theft also uses cameras to empty bank accounts. In this case, thieves place an electronic device around the card slot that can copy the data from the card's magnetic strip as it enters the ATM. The copied data is stored on a memory card contained within the device. To create a fake withdrawal card and transfer the stolen data to it, all you need is a store card, or even a phone card.
The small hole from which the camera records the movements of anyone making withdrawals
The journalist who discovered the fraud
Daily Mail journalist Simon Tomlinson, who was one of the victims of the scammers who installed cameras in ATMs, describes how he discovered that something was... wrong one evening when he had gone to withdraw money from an ATM.
"I went to a bank ATM in east London last month. After inserting my card into the slot, I typed in my PIN (without covering the keypad with my other hand). I was expecting my cash, but not only did I not get it, the machine sucked in my card as well.
Noticing that something was wrong, my friend started tapping the panel above the keyboard. After a few taps… it stuck in his hand. It was long and narrow, carefully designed to look like a regular machine, and had the word “Cash” written on the front.
Underneath it was a circuit board, wiring, a camera, and a memory card. A small hole in the bottom of the fake panel allowed the camera to record the movements of those making withdrawals.
What I didn't realise was that within seconds of me leaving the ATM the crooks had approached the machine and grabbed my card which was trapped in it. Without knowing the PIN they could only use it to make contactless purchases. And even though I cancelled it in the few minutes that had passed they managed to take £40 from me.".
Source: iefimerida.gr
