Police agencies have been warning
the public about skimmers at ATM’s and gas stations for some time. Skimmers
allow crooks to collect your account information from your credit or debit
card.
Much of the advice in avoiding
becoming a victim of this technique has included:
·
Look over the ATM or gas pump for any signs of
tampering.
·
Grab the slot where you insert your card to see
if it is loose.
·
At a gas station, try to use the pump nearest
the attendant’s station on the theory that ID thieves would install skimmers
furthest away from easy view.
New technology may have added
another technique that you can use to ensure the safety of your information.
For the last few years, ID thieves who have been using skimmers have added
Bluetooth technology to their equipment. This is the same technology that is
used to allow you to talk hands free on your cell phone or listen to music on a
wireless speaker. Bluetooth allows them to swing by and download the
information from the device to their laptop, tablet or cell phone. The range
for Bluetooth devices is only about 30 feet. But someone can fill up their tank
and surreptitiously collect the information without raising suspicions of
people around them.
How can Bluetooth help you? When
you pull up to a gas pump or approach an ATM, pull out your smartphone, go to
the Bluetooth area of settings and look at the list of devices. If you see a
device in the list with a long string of numbers and/or letters it is probably
a skimmer. Tell the attendant, store employee or the bank that the ATM belongs
to.
For more about skimmers go to,
Federal Trade Commission:
KING TV:
KSAT12, San Antonio, TX:
Consumerist:
Cisco Blogs:
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