How Credit Card Skimming Works

Credit card skimming is an ongoing problem that continues to plague consumers. As more and more awareness is raised about credit card theft, people tend to be more careful about credit cards nowadays, but still credit card skimming continues to rise.

Today's thieves have graduated beyond stealing a number off a customer's card when they aren’t looking. Instead, they take your card information when you use it to purchase every day items.

Here's are some ways it works:

*Portable Skimmers

Portable skimmers are small devices that capture vital credit card information including the card owner's name, credit card number, expiration date and/or other security codes included with the card. How they work is the thief covertly skims the card through the device and collects the digital information. Later on, often after numerous credit card thefts have occurred, these card numbers are then re-written onto different cards. This is similar to the process that happens when you check into a hotel and they make you a new key card.

*Middlemen

Ringleaders of credit card fraud typically 'outsource' the actual theft to a middleman to act as the go between the victim and the fraudster. These middlemen are usually carefully selected employees of various business, chosen because of their job allowing them to have access to many credit cards per day. Workers chosen are typically lower salary employees who may be tempted to earn some extra cash. These employees are handed the skimmers. Fraud ringleaders typically pay on average between $10 and $30 per credit card, as reported before on our site, some go for as low as $.85 cents. The price depends on the credit limit and the bank issuing the card. The higher priced cards are ones that have high limits with banks that done specialize in fraud prevention.

*Installed Skimmers

Many banks and businesses that have their credit card processing set up as self-service could be used as the point of theft for credit card fraud. What thieves do is install skimming devices over the existing credit card scan in order to pilfer the information as consumers think they are giving it to the business and/or bank. Often they install small cameras which collect any PIN numbers which are used.

*Wireless and Laptops

Gas stations are commonly afflicted by this means of skimming. As more and more pumps become 'pay as you go', wireless technology is often used to send the credit information from the pump to the server. What thieves are doing is patiently sitting nearby with a laptop intercepting the data and downloading it to their personal computers. Often, skimmers are installed inside the pump.

*Businesses Used

Credit card skimming can happen anywhere, but the most common types of businesses targeted to act as the source of cards are usually restaurants, fast food drive through windows, bars and gas stations.

The reasons why these kinds of businesses are selected is simple. Customers typically allow their credit cards to leave their possession for brief periods of time so employees could scan their cards. In the case of gas stations, skimmers are often installed either inside or outside the pumps and thieves simply use wireless technologies and pilfer information as it travels wirelessly from the gas pump to the server. Employees monitoring would have no way to see something was amiss.