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'Shimmer' is the sneakiest way to steal card info yet

Credit card thieves have a new way of stealing card information from ATMs, and it's almost undetectable.
An ATM machine on Third Avenue is viewed in New York on May 10, 2013, just one of the many that were used as cyber thieves around the world stole $45 million by hacking into debit card companies, scrapping withdrawal limits and helping themselves from cash machines, US authorities said May 9, 2013. The massive heist unfolded "in a matter of hours," said the US prosecutor's office for Brooklyn, New York. Prosecutors unveiled charges against eight people accused of forming the New York cell of the plot, which stretched across 26 countries. In their case, they allegedly lifted $2.8 million in cash and now face charges of conspiracy to commit access device fraud and money laundering. Seven of the eight have been arrested, the US attorney's office said. The eighth, Alberto Yusi Lajud-Pena, who was the leader and was nicknamed "Prime" and "Albertico," is reported to have been murdered two weeks ago, the office said. AFP PHOTO / TIMOTHY A. CLARY (Photo credit should read TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images)

Credit card thieves have a new way of stealing card information from ATMs, and it's almost undetectable.

According to the security blog Krebs on Security, the credit card "shimmer" is a strip of flexible plastic slipped inside a credit card reader. The shimmer is apparently designed to read the information from the iCVV chip placed on most new credit and debit cards. The iiCVV chip is designed to add an additional layer of security to credit cards and identify counterfeit cards.

The photos and information about the "shimmer" were uploaded to a website called CrimeDex, which is an online clearing house for fraud investigators, the site's founders 3VR said. They were originally uploaded by a Mexican company called Damage Control SA, according to 3VR.

Previously, card thieves installed "skimmers", which are false card readers placed on top of existing readers. The shimmer, however, is not visible from the outside and does not require installing anything over the machine's card reader.

The shimmer was found installed on an ATM in Mexico, according to Krebs.

"The ID theft criminals always appear to be a little ahead of the game," identity-theft expert Mark Pribish said. "I just learned about shimming two days ago."

 

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