Gang Used 3D Printers To Make ATM Skimmers 212
An anonymous reader sends this excerpt from a post by security researcher Brian Krebs:
"An ATM skimmer gang stole more than $400,000 using skimming devices built with the help of high-tech 3D printers, federal prosecutors say. ... Apparently, word is spreading in the cybercrime underworld that 3D printers produce flawless skimmer devices with exacting precision. Last year, i-materialize blogged about receiving a client's order for building a card skimmer. In June, a federal court indicted four men from South Texas whom authorities say had reinvested the profits from skimming scams to purchase a 3D printer."
Re:Very broken system (Score:2, Informative)
As someone who has helped to bring those card's you're annoyed at...
Firstly, the security in those cards is exceedingly high. The banks are quite paranoid about extremely sophisticated dodgy merchants and/or consumers.
But that aside, you're not taking much risk with the cards - if you report the card stolen then you'll get the money back. Yes you have to monitor it and there is a slight delay in getting it resolved. I don't know, perhaps I've drunk the kool-aid too much, it doesn't feel like a big cost for the benefit to me.
In terms of why you have one - it's been both consumers and merchants asking for it. From a merchant's perspective being able to process sales faster means fewer staff required, more sales, etc. From a customer's perspective, it saves almost 30 seconds over say the chip+pin.
Speaking only for myself, etc.
Re:Very broken system (Score:3, Informative)
My bank did this too. Took about 3 weeks before we saw the first new skimmers.
They're translucent green, almost look like a screen cover for a phone.
They fit under the new green card slot, where the green plastic protrudes over the actual card entrance to the machine.
You have to look CLOSE to notice it; almost invisible.
Amazing little devices, they'll actually using the insertion of the card itself to generate the power required to record the magstripe.
The camera that shoots the PIN is actually in a different location, using a telephoto.
Now they're talking about building anti-LOS boxes around all the ATMs to prevent the telephoto shot.
(note that there are already anti-photo coatings on the screen, they're taking video of your hand movement and infering your PIN from that since the numbers are always in the same place on the screen)
Next thing we need to do is start using all touchpad PIN entry and cypher it by having each of the keys (0-9) in a random place on the screen each time, that way, once you've entered your PIN, there's no way to know what number a certain gesture corresponded to.