Fraud Experts Find Chip Card ATM ‘Shimmer’

The technology behind EMV chip cards may have just found its first match.

Security experts have discovered what is referred to as an ATM “shimmer,” which is a type of skimming device that could potentially read the data taken from chip-enabled credit and debit cards, reports KrebsOnSecurity. The device earned its name since it “acts a[s a] shim that sits between the chip on the card and the chip reader in the ATM,” which is what enables it to potentially record its data.

The device was reportedly found inside a dip reader that is used to accept EMV chip payments, according to ATM security firm 3VR. The “shimmer” device was only inserted on the outside of the device and did not need internal access to the ATM, the experts said.

EMV chip cards are believed to be more secure because of the computer chip that eliminates the MagStripe payment method that stores the cardholder’s account data. The EMV chips have extra layers of security that don’t allow for the same data to be transmitted during a transaction.

“This suggests to me that the thieves plan to target an issuer where they know the CVV is not going to be checked,” Charlie Harrow, solutions manager for global security at NCR, an ATM manufacturer, told KrebsOnSecurity.

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