NOW READ THIS
("Security Advisory")
Submitted by: Bill Hickey
NCVA List Master
NRT-0491 Skimming ATMs:
Four Bulgarians were arrested in Miami, accused of installing "skimmers" on the outside of ATMs
and cameras on the inside to capture PIN and account numbers followed by reprogramming
retail-store gift-card blanks and nefariously acquired credit cards with the information to
withdraw money. The Bulgarians used some of the gift cards to buy clothes; however, most of the
$2 million stolen was cash, the lead detective said. The accused crooks removed pieces of ATMs
and modified them in what the lead detective described as a lab. The suspects "actually placed
a camera that records PIN numbers inside the ATM," perhaps the first to do so, the detective said.
Skimmers placed over the card slots captured information as a card was inserted and withdrawn.
"When it would get ejected, it would sychronize with the camera," he said. The matching information
subsequently was recorded in a log book. Federal and local law enforcement agencies have been
chasing the four men for two years, while they ripped off "thousands of victims" from South Florida
to New Jersey. The suspects likely shared victims' information with each other, said the lead
detective.
(chron.com 10APR08)