DES MOINES, Iowa–Don’t expect fraudsters to back off ATM attacks.
As CUToday.info has extensively reported, crooks have been turning to ATM skimming as the U.S. migrates to EMV. But now that EMV readers are being installed in more ATMs, criminals are turning to “shimming” attacks.
As CUToday.info has also reported, a shimmer is a thin device inserted into the ATM reader and it intercepts data being passed between the card and the ATM. Because EMV chip cards still have a mag-stripe, shimmers are able to pull data from them.
Ashley McAlpine, fraud prevention manager with CO-OP Financial Services, noted fraudsters can’t use this data to create a new EMV card, but they can use it to create a mag-stripe card. Those cards can easily be used at retailers that have not yet upgraded to EMV or at shops that have upgraded but allow consumers to still swipe.
McAlpine said the shimmers are more costly for crooks and take more time to install.
“But that indicates how serious they are about attacking ATMs,” said McAlpine. “They are willing to invest more time and money into this crime. That’s a clear indication these ATM attacks are not going to slow down.”