Fraudsters, adopting techniques already used in Europe, have raised their game in adjusting to EMV (Europay, MasterCard, and Visa) technology recently introduced in the U.S., Greenwich (Conn.) Police Dept. Det. Mark Solomon said during a breakout session at the CUNA CFO Council Conference in Orlando.
“As you know the bad guys are not putting up the white flag to surrender,” Solomon says. “They’re just finding additional ways to commit fraud.”
Because the U.S. was comparatively late in the process of converting to EMV technology, behind Europe, there’s a clear view of what the future of fraud looks like.
It’s clear that fraudsters have shifted to card-not--present fraud because of the presence of chip-and-pin technology.
“But the ugly truth is that bad guys can still use strip credit card data through that magnet stripe and use it at non-chip locations,” Solomon says.
Other methods fraudsters are using:
• ATM shimming. Here a “shim” sits between the chip and the reader and captures enough of the data to be used to create a counterfeit chip card.
• Deep-insert skimmers. Similar to other skimming devices but these are inserted deeper beyond the reach of existing detectors to capture account information.
• Malware. As with virtually every other kind of software, there is virtually no end to the improvements fraudsters make to the malware they use to perpetrate ATMs.
White-hat hackers even hold a contest in Las Vegas each year showcasing their capabilities.
• ATM forking. Using a tool that looks like a fork, criminals capture cash as it is dispensed through phony transactions.
• Overlays. Using 3-D printers, perpetrators create overlays that cover the entire interface of the ATM.
In some cases they also use overlays for retail terminals at point-of-sale locations and capture transaction information through Bluetooth technology.
“Of course, criminals like to plant these devices when no one’s around,” Solomon says. “That’s why vigilance and preparation is more important than ever in staying one step ahead of these guys.”
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