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Authorities go on the lookout for ATM 'periscope' skimmers

September 15, 2016

ATM operators in the United States now have a new kind of ATM fraud to worry about — "periscope skimming."

Krebs on Security reported this week that the U.S. Secret Service is investigating two cases — one in Pennsylvania and one in Connecticut — in which this new type of skimmer was installed inside an ATM.

According to the report, which cited a nonpublic alert, criminals used a key to open the top hat of the ATM. This allowed them to install a pair of devices wired together, Krebs said:

The first device — the periscope skimming probe — is installed through a pre-existing hole on the frame of the motorized card reader.

The probe is set in place to connect to the circuit board and directly onto the pad that transfers cardholder data stored on the magnetic stripe on the backs of customer payment cards. The probe is then held in place with fast-drying superglue …

Once installed, the only part of the skimmer that can be seen with the top hat open is the unit containing a battery (capacity 14 days) and a data storage device (capacity 32,000 cards).

Connecticut authorities theorize that the installation discovered in Greenwich was intended only as a test of a device prototype, as no PIN-capture device was found on or around the ATM.