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ATMIA says penalties for ATM skimming should be tougher

November 16, 2009

The ATM Industry Association has released a position paper that calls tougher sentences for ATM-skimming attacks.

In the paper, ATMIA supports worldwide legislation that makes the possession, distribution or use of illegal skimming devices a serious offence.

Mike Lee, ATMIA's chief executive, says skimming remains the industry's No. 1 global security concern:

Skimming is probably the most widespread crime type we face. Nevertheless, this threat should not be exaggerated. ATMs continue to be excellent, safe self-service banking devices to use.

ATMIA defines skimming as the unauthorized capture of magnetic-stripe information by modifying the hardware or software of a payment device, or through the use of a separate card reader. Skimming is often accompanied by the capture of customer PIN data.

In August, ATMIA published best practices for the prevention of skimming.

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ATM Industry Association (ATMIA)

The ATM Industry Association, founded in 1997, is a global non-profit trade association with over 10,500 members in 65 countries. The membership base covers the full range of this worldwide industry comprising over 2.2 million installed ATMs.

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