Police seize ATM theft device
08dec02
FRAUD squad detectives yesterday seized a working keycard skimmer, which
will allow them for the first time to learn how the new electronic thieving
operates.
"This is the first entire skimmer we have found in Australia," said Fraud
Squad Inspector Michael Gerondis.
A Randwick woman called police when she noticed an unusual device on an
automatic teller machine at Sydney Fish Markets in Pyrmont at 10.30am.
"She thought it was a little suspicious so she got a friend to try to pull
the part away, and it came away," Insp Gerondis said.
The discovery was a breakthrough for detectives investigating the theft of
more than $300,000 in Sydney through keycard skimming, a new crime imported
to Australia by Asian gangs. "The componentry will hopefully help lead us
to the people (responsible)," Insp Gerondis said.
"We've learnt some things from the way it was built. The equipment is
reasonably hi-tech, which you can get over the Internet, but you would have
to know what you were doing to put it together."
The small card skimmer, usually held over the ATM's card slot by a piece of
moulded plastic, copies the electronic information on cards.
Immediately above the keypad is a thin plastic box, which blends in with
the ATM. Inside this is the technology that can hold the details of 20,000
credit cards and a tiny pin camera, which records the card's PIN as it is
typed in.
Insp Gerondis said he believed criminals had been sitting in the fish
markets carpark receiving images from the tiny camera.
Security guards have told police they checked the machine at 10.30pm on
Friday and it had not been tampered with.
"They usually put the devices on during busy times and leave them there for
a couple of hours," Insp Gerondis said. "It would take 10 seconds to put on
and five seconds to take off."
Even the trained eye of Insp Gerondis was initially deceived by the
chameleon qualities of the device.
"When I first looked at the machine, the slot caught my attention and I saw
what was over it, but the top plate (holding the camera) threw me," he said.
"I had to look hard to notice it."
Skimming frauds have existed in Asia, Canada and Europe for a number of
years. In Australia, seven ATMs in NSW and two in Victoria have been
compromised in the past month.
One man is already facing court on fraud charges over the scam.
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