Credit card skimmers are still out there – and skimmers cause credit card fraud for more and more people everyday – it’s just as common as being hacked online. Credit card skimmers can appear on anything – the POS terminal at the register of a grocery store, a pump at the gas station, the ATM machine outside your bank. It’s important to know how to spot a credit card skimmer, so you can avoid financial loss. Here are 3 ways to detect credit card skimmers.
1. Make Sure Nothing Moves
Credit card skimmers can attach directly to the top of machines and might also be underneath the pin pad. Don’t be afraid to pull or tug at the machine and to wiggle on the pin pad. If anything moves or feels loose, don’t use the machine.
2. Compare Your Machine to the One Next to You
If you’re at a gas station or outside a bank and there are multiple machines around you, compare yours to those ones. Make sure the colors are the same and there are no extra parts on yours. And if you do see extra parts on the one next to yours, it’s in your best interest to avoid all the machines in that area. Go to a separate location. This is one of the simplest ways to confirm your machine isn’t tampered with. Unfortunately, there might not always be a machine next to yours, and the credit card skimmer might not be so obvious (as in, there might not be noticeable parts and pieces).
3. Check for hidden graphics or text.
When someone installs a credit card skimmer onto the machine, it might cover up pieces of the actual machine – which means it could cover up graphics or text that came with the machine. If this is the case, look for graphics that are partially concealed – for example, a cut off word. This is a telltale sign that the machine has been tampered with.
Fraud isn’t just online anymore. If you want stronger protection for your accounts and personal information, Online Computers can help you build safer security habits and defenses.
