ATM Criminals Resort To “Shoulder Surfing”

The UK’s recent crackdown on chip & Pin and security regulations have forced fraudsters to return to old-fashioned ways to steal cash at ATM machines.

According to BBC news, the Financial Fraud Action UK reported there were 7,525 ATM thefts in the first quarter of 2013. This was a substantial difference compared to the 2,553 incidents reported in the same period during 2012.

The organization further reported the number of ATM thefts have only been increasing every month since then.

Since stricter chip & PIN regulations have been implemented and ATM machine technology has improved, criminals have resorted to less sophisticated methods to steal cash.

Advancements in payments technology has made it difficult for crime rings to employ high tech devices to steal account details from stolen cards.

The BBC reported a rising trend amongst thefts is the “shoulder surfing” tactic. Criminals will peak over a customer’s shoulders while they punch in their pin at a cash machine.

After learning the pin code, the criminal will then attempt to distract the accountholder. They will commonly engage in conversation as a distraction, and then quickly snatch the card to use at another ATM location.

Fraudsters have also been reported to be setting up hidden cameras to film consumers entering details, or  placing devices into the machine to trap the card. The device retrieves the card, and consumers leave them behind because they think the machine has swallowed the card on accident. Fraudsters will return to the machine to collect the cards at a later time.

More sophisticated technology, such as online software, is more expensive and hard to get a hold of because they are illegal. As a result, trendy strategies such as shoulder surfing and card skimming have become more popular because it is both inexpensive and effective.

The surge in ATM crime has underscored the important need for British consumers to remain vigilant when withdrawing cash in public. Consumers have been strongly advised to cover the pin pad when they punch in their pins.

To read the full story at the BBC News click here.