Scammers have found a new way how to steal card data from an ATM

Perhaps it's time to return to the habit of hiding your savings for life in the form of cash under the mattress, since the bank card is no longer able to store your personal data.

An expert on cybercrime, Brian Krebs, said that a very subtle method has come to find out information about your bank card using an ATM.

What is the essence of "periscopic skimming"

This technique was called "periscopic skimming." It involves collecting information about the bank's customer account through the magnetic strip of the credit card. More traditional ways to do this involve the use of hidden electronic devices or devices that can be attached to the rows of ATM card slots. As a rule, they are quite noticeable, since changes can occur in the ATM operation.

However, the new method uses a thin sensor that connects directly to the internal ATM card, and thus collects the card data. It is almost impossible to detect if you do not know what you really need to look for. Such devices can remain charged for 14 days, and potentially they can store up to 32,000 card numbers.

How to protect yourself?

According to Krebs, these technologies have already appeared in the US, so it is quite possible that swindlers from other countries will soon take this novelty into service.

Reports from the US Secret Service, which were the first to warn of this novelty, say that no cases of the theft of the PIN code have been recorded yet. It is also worth noting that to establish a device scammers need to have access to the inside of the ATM, which is possible only with the help of a special key. Thus, if the ATM is located in a bank building, it can be called relatively safe. An expert on cybercrime says that most often such devices are set up by fraudsters at ATMs that are not located on the territory of the bank.