A number of European countries are reporting an increase in card-skimming devices stealing data at rail stations, petrol pumps and car parks.
Card skimming is on the rise according to new research from the European ATM Security Team (EAST) and it's taking place where you least expect it.
EAST releases information three times a year on the levels of ATM crime across Europe. 23 countries participated in the most recent update, including the United Kingdom.
Card skimming at ATMs was reported by 22 out of 23 countries involved in the research. Eight countries experienced an increase while four recorded a decrease. The rest remained unchanged.
Card skimming in Europe commonly involves attaching a device onto an ATM card slot to take data from your credit or debit card.
This information is used to clone the card by fraudsters.
Unexpected targets
However, EAST also had reports of card skimming at other places you might use your card.
Six countries experienced attacks on unattended payment terminals at petrol stations.
Meanwhile, five countries reported skimming attacks on railway and transport ticket machines. EAST doesn’t reveal which countries they were, just that they were major ATM deployers, which means nations like the UK, France, Germany, Russia, Italy and Spain.
Skimmer scammers were found to be targeting parking ticket machines in two countries, while point of sale machines were compromised in three countries.
[SPOTLIGHT]Methods the fraudsters use here can include tampering with the chip slot and using bluetooth devices to transmit card and PIN data.
Holiday skimming
One trend which has emerged from the report is for cards to be skimmed abroad while the cardholder is on holiday.
In some cases this relies on a fake fascia being fitted to an ATM terminal.
After entering their PIN the cardholder gets an ‘out of order’ message from the fake fascia screen, while the PIN is captured by the fake keypad.
Chip and PIN
In Europe 99.2% of ATMs are Europay, MasterCard or Visa (EMV) compliant, which means you need a chip and PIN to use the card.
But in America and some other countries this is not the case. Shops and cash machines in the States still use the magnetic strip to read the card and a signature to verify the cardholder.
The report from EAST suggests that skimming incidents in Europe enable fraud to take place outside of EMV compliant areas, mostly in the United States, Dominican Republic, Brazil, Mexico, Peru and Thailand.
According to EAST there are ten European countries that now use ‘geo-blocking’, which stops the use of cards outside of designated chip and PIN areas. This tactic has led to a decrease in skimming-related incidents and losses.
What to do
According to the latest figures from the UK Cards Association, fraud losses on UK cards came to £388 million in 2012. Skimming and cloning accounted for £42.1 million of that total.
So it is important to keep on your guard whenever you pay or withdraw cash with your card at a terminal.
If an ATM or pay terminal looks suspicious don’t risk using it.
EAST has a full range of tips for keeping your details secure on its website.
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