Friday, June 22, 2007
Thursday, June 21, 2007
ATM: See how easy it is for crooks to steal your money
Protect your card and PIN!
See how easy it is for crooks to steal your money:
This is the original post, as written in December 2006
- translated from Italian (source) by Dark Roasted Blend
One surveillance camera in a bank in Italy has captured these images. They clearly show how easily you may be swindled out of your money, while banking at automatic teller (ATM)
Be on guard, and share this information with your friends!
The camera shows someone routinely making a bank deposit:
but what this person actually doing
is inserting something in the machine:
to make sure that nobody catches him
tampering with the machine, he has
a friend outside to alert him.
Once the trap is set, the victim enters the bank:
He inserts the debit card into ATM, and it gets stuck there!
The victim is surprised: "Weird, maybe this machine is broken?"
He looks around for advice:
Luckily there is someone eager to help to get the card out.
What "the helper" is actually after is the P.I.N. code:
"The Good Samaritan" convinces the victim to try to enter the code again
(he may blame the faulty keypad, new type of the machine,
or claim to know the "secret unblocking code", etc.)
However, the card remains stuck, no matter how many times he punches "Enter"
or "Cancel".
The exasperated victim leaves, realizing he will
have to get his card from the bank later.
As soon as the victim is gone,
"the helper" returns to retrieve the card from the machine.
Now he's got both the card AND the P.I.N..
he withdraws the maximum amount of money
from all accounts on the card, and leaves.
The inserted "card trap" is just a piece of black film,
which blends with black plastic of the ATM.
The trap is inserted into the slot, with the ends slightly
sticking out and glued to the outside,
for an easy withdrawal afterwards.
Once these ends are neatly glued in, it's nearly impossible to tell
if there is any foreign object in the slot.
The trap film also has special notches,
to ensure that the card is not ejected by the machine
when the operation is canceled.
Once the victim is gone, the crook unglues the tips of the trap
and "fishes out" the card.
DO NOT FALL FOR THESE TRAPS!
Never type your PIN in plain view of strangers.
Thanks to Gianlucamat for this warning.
(Translated from Italian by A. Abrams)
UPDATE, December 25, 2006:
Think keeping money in ATM is too risky?
There is always an alternative, you know :)
but what this person actually doing
is inserting something in the machine:
to make sure that nobody catches him
tampering with the machine, he has
a friend outside to alert him.
Once the trap is set, the victim enters the bank:
He inserts the debit card into ATM, and it gets stuck there!
The victim is surprised: "Weird, maybe this machine is broken?"
He looks around for advice:
Luckily there is someone eager to help to get the card out.
What "the helper" is actually after is the P.I.N. code:
"The Good Samaritan" convinces the victim to try to enter the code again
(he may blame the faulty keypad, new type of the machine,
or claim to know the "secret unblocking code", etc.)
However, the card remains stuck, no matter how many times he punches "Enter"
or "Cancel".
The exasperated victim leaves, realizing he will
have to get his card from the bank later.
As soon as the victim is gone,
"the helper" returns to retrieve the card from the machine.
Now he's got both the card AND the P.I.N..
he withdraws the maximum amount of money
from all accounts on the card, and leaves.
The inserted "card trap" is just a piece of black film,
which blends with black plastic of the ATM.
The trap is inserted into the slot, with the ends slightly
sticking out and glued to the outside,
for an easy withdrawal afterwards.
Once these ends are neatly glued in, it's nearly impossible to tell
if there is any foreign object in the slot.
The trap film also has special notches,
to ensure that the card is not ejected by the machine
when the operation is canceled.
Once the victim is gone, the crook unglues the tips of the trap
and "fishes out" the card.
DO NOT FALL FOR THESE TRAPS!
Never type your PIN in plain view of strangers.
Thanks to Gianlucamat for this warning.
(Translated from Italian by A. Abrams)
UPDATE, December 25, 2006:
Think keeping money in ATM is too risky?
There is always an alternative, you know :)
Hacking Gmail
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Wednesday, June 20, 2007
(InDepth Reviews): The Top 100 WebSites for 2007.
Browsing
Fundamental Web access tools: Browsers, extensions, widgets, and security.
Communications
Person-to-person communications platforms: E-mail, chat, voice.
Community
Online gathering places and group-powered content.
Data
Tools for finding online info, and storing and sharing files.
Entertainment
Tools for taking time off: Games and contests.
Media
Places to consume and share videos, photos, and music.
Mobile
Products that make your mobile phone a Web 2.0 appliance.
Productivity and Commerce
Sites for getting things done and doing online business.
Publishing
Tools for producing your own site: Blogging and Web content services.
Reference
Fonts of knowledge--from history to movies to maps.
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