Men installed skimming devices and hidden cameras on a Cambridge ATM to steal card data and PIN numbers. Security expert Robert Siciliano explains how the scam works and recommends chip-and-PIN cards, PIN shields, and covering the keypad with your hand when entering your code.
Chapters
Pictures are close up and no one here is covering up. Police say these men stole personal information from people's bank cards, including PIN numbers, and used it to drain their accounts.
They are great quality photos.
Cambridge Detective Brian O'Connor specializes in computer crimes.
They could be anywhere. Um, they could still be in the Boston area.
He says it happened here in Central Square. The men outfitted at least one bank's ATM, maybe more, with a skimming device. Something like this left on for a couple months, countless swipes.
Security expert Robert Siciliano. As a consumer, you walk up to the ATM, you slide your card through, and it skims the information off the back of the magnetic strip. This mirror actually houses a camera that takes video of the keypad as you're punching in your PIN code.
There are things that banks and credit card companies can do to help. Something as low-tech as a shield to block the view of the PIN. PIN pad, or more high-tech chip technology can be installed in the credit cards themselves to make them more secure.
We're going to have to upgrade to chip and PIN to thwart all the criminal hackers and ATM skimmers.
Meantime, experts say cover the PIN pad with your hand and check your statements.
The earlier you recognize that something's not supposed to be on there, the, you know, the earlier you catch the fraud.
And take a close look at these pictures. Police say if you recognize these men, you could save a lot of people. A lot of headaches. In Cambridge, Christina Hager, WBZ News.
