Beware This Simple But Incredibly Effective Point-Of-Sale Skimmer

Beware This Simple But Incredibly Effective Point-Of-Sale Skimmer


Card skimmers are getting way more common, to the point that they’ve even started appearing on point-of-sale card machines. And, boy, if this thing is anything to go by, they’re getting better and better.

Krebs on Security has come across a “remarkably simple but brilliant POS skimming device” that crooks can install and remove in seconds. The video above, produced by a fraudster who sells the devices, shows his kit being retrofitted to a late-model Verifone point-of-sale device. The whole video lasts 25 seconds.

The piece of kit includes a tiny battery and flash storage card that “allows the fake PIN pad to capture the key presses and record the data stored on the magnetic stripe of each swiped card.” In other words, it can be installed super-quickly and rip all your details. It’s a crooked store assistant’s dream come true.

So, the advice remains the same: if anything ever looks suspicious on a card device, just don’t use it. Simple as that. [Krebs on Security]


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