[HN Gopher] All About Skimmers
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All About Skimmers
Author : cm_silva
Score : 54 points
Date : 2023-06-09 10:55 UTC (1 days ago)
(HTM) web link (krebsonsecurity.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (krebsonsecurity.com)
| pixxel wrote:
| A truly fascinating read. This made me chuckle:
|
| > audio skimmers allow fraudsters to sell lucrative service
| contracts along with their theft devices. The vendor of this
| skimmer kit advertises "full support after purchase," and "easy
| installation (10-15 seconds)." But the catch with this skimmer is
| that the price tag is misleading. That's because the audio files
| recorded by the device are encrypted. The Mp3 files are useless
| unless you also purchase the skimmer maker's decryption service,
| which decodes the audio files into a digital format that can be
| encoded onto counterfeit ATM cards
| AceJohnny2 wrote:
| There truly is no honor among thieves.
| bilekas wrote:
| This is ancient and is one of the core staples of Krebs'
| journalism. If you're only reading it now you're in for a treat
| with the rest of his work.
| BrentOzar wrote:
| Needs "2016" in the title.
|
| Past discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8327676
| ck2 wrote:
| I realize the logic is criminals go where the money is but crime
| is just so weird.
|
| I mean unless it's a one-shot deal, sooner or later you are going
| to be caught and then end up with consequences for everything.
|
| Yeah I know, not deep thinkers but still, this is way more effort
| than smash'n'grab car windows in the parking lot, they have to
| think out a little in the future with that level of commitment.
| nubb wrote:
| while criminals are pretty individualistic, they work in
| groups. eggs get broken to make the omelette, cost of doing
| business, etc.
|
| not to mention criminals can stash money and retrieve it when
| they are released.
|
| tldr - the idea of doing enough crime to save a lot of money
| and live on it on the other side, is pretty appealing to a lot
| of ppl.
| avidiax wrote:
| The genius is coming up with the skimmer kits and selling them
| for $1k-$5k.
|
| Or you discount the hardware but encrypt the data and charge a
| fee per card to decrypt.
| asnyder wrote:
| I was a victim of skimming on my Revolut card at an Allpoint
| ATM within their network. Despite the clear evidence, police
| report, and evidence from the skimmed withdrawal ATM camera
| clearly showing the withdrawal without my card, Revolut
| essentially bunted and all but admitted (via a month of
| disjointed back and forths with what seemed liked 50+ reps)
| they don't deal, reimburse, or follow-up with skimming leaving
| me on the hook and the culprit without repercussions.
|
| I know the NYPD may be making a case but haven't heard a
| follow-up, despite them already having clear video evidence of
| the suspect from the ATM attempts in what's now been ~5 months
| since the incident and still haven't been made whole.
|
| Since then I don't leave any funds in Revolut as they pretend
| to not be a bank except when it suits them. There's something
| to be said to be able to actually walk into a bank, or make a
| call and have someone that can actually do something to resolve
| the issue and potentially follow-up with the authorities,
| versus leaving it all to the victim, and tough luck.
|
| Still have to follow-up with the banking authorities to file
| complaints against Revolut along with all the evidence and
| police findings in the hopes of some positive conclusion, but
| as you can see is a lot of effort on my part, and in the
| meantime the culprit continues to prosper.
|
| Our police and banking systems are clearly not setup or capable
| to handle fraud crimes and the criminals know it, taking
| advantage of it all the way to the bank.
| myself248 wrote:
| I don't recognize either of those names so I guess they're
| not nationwide, but has the local news covered this at all?
| Surely others must've been impacted. Have you reached out to
| any reporters?
| whywhywhywhy wrote:
| I'll never understand why their attack against skimmers was to
| put a giant molded piece of plastic over the slot which doesn't
| even look like its attached to the rest of the machine anyway and
| can easily be removed of sheathed with a skimmer.
|
| Surely the correct attack would be to make the slot as flush and
| minimal as possible without indentation so to hide a skimmer the
| entire front of the machine would need to be faked.
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(page generated 2023-06-10 23:02 UTC)