What is Credit Card Skimming?
The magnetic strip on your credit card contains all of your card details, and this is read by the credit card processing machine when you swipe your card to pay for goods or services. Thieves and fraudsters can take advantage of this magnetic strip method in order to steal your card details electronically, often without your knowledge and this is a process known as ‘skimming’.
Skimming is quite a high tech crime and involves some quite specialised equipment and technology, and in reality it is far easier for thieves just to steal your credit cards. However this has the drawback of alerting you to the fact your cards may be misused, and you could cancel them before the thieves have a chance to use them. With skimming methods, the victim will in most cases not find out their details have been stolen until charges appear on the credit card statement, and this provides thieves with a more opportunity to run up as many fraudulent charges as they can.
How does skimming work?
Skimming involves attaching a false card reader to an ATM machine, so that you when you insert your card to take out money you are actually inserting into a recording machine, which will take down your card details and PIN number and transmit it to a nearby wireless source such as a laptop. These details are then used to clone cards, which thieves can use to take out cash and pay for goods and services using your details. These false card readers are usually very sophisticated, and most victims will still be able take money out of the ATM as normal and so will not realise that anything is wrong until too late. Other skimming techniques can include false card readers that retain your card after have input your details making it seem as if the ATM has swallowed it, but in reality it is simply trapped at the front of the reader so that criminals can retrieve your card and use it after you have gone, and also completely fake stand alone ATM machines that are set up temporarily by criminals in public places, that have no cash inside and are simple designed to record your card details.