You are reading

Peralta wants banks–to bodegas–to post signs warning users about illegal ATM skimmers

NYPD

Aug. 15, 2017 By Jason Cohen

State Senator Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhurst) introduced legislation earlier this month that would require banks and other businesses with ATMs to post signage warning users about the criminal practice calling skimming.

On a daily basis, consumers use ATMs without incident. However, in some instances, thieves place skimming devices on the top of card readers so they can copy the ATM user’s card information. The thieves also install fake keypads on the machines or place a camera by the ATM in order to record a person’s PIN number.

The criminals then make identical copies of the cards and use it with the stolen PIN to commit fraud.

Peralta, who said that he has fallen victim to the scam, said that many of his constituents have also been defrauded by skimmers. When he heard their stories, he said, he was shocked that banks, bodegas and other businesses with ATMs did not have signage warning consumers about skimming.

The number of people involved in skimming appears to be on the rise, Peralta said, “yet they are difficult to catch.”
“This is a consumer protection issue that I think people should be aware of,” Peralta said. “There should be some sort of signage warning people what to look for.”

In March, a study from FICO reported that there was a 70 percent increase in the number of debit cards that were compromised in 2016 at ATMs and at card readers used by merchants, compared to 2015. It also revealed that the number of card readers at ATMs and merchant devices that were hacked rose 30 percent.

“In order to protect consumers, we need to ensure that they are made aware of this burgeoning threat, the ways in which they can protect themselves from it, and how to make a report to the Attorney General if they believe they have been victimized,” Peralta said. “This legislation will help to accomplish these aims, and help keep the consumer’s hard-earned money from falling into the hands of criminals.”

According to Michael Betron, a FICO senior product manager, those most at risk of debit card theft are people who use nonbank ATMs, such as the ones in convenience stores, and remote gas stations.

The police recommend that consumers, to protect themselves from skimmers, pull on the actual card reader since the skimming devices are not affixed with any type of glue or device. They also recommended that card owners shield keypads with their hands or wallets when inputting a PIN.

email the author: news@queenspost.com

One Comment

Click for Comments 

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Hollis man charged with raping 14-year-old told teen, ‘I can help you get work’

New details have emerged in the case of the Hollis man accused luring a 14-year-old boy into his car in St. Albans and then allegedly raping him on the afternoon of Tuesday, July 1.

Virgilio Taveras, 63, of Hillside Avenue, was arrested by detectives from the Queens Special Victims Squad two days later and booked at the 107th Precinct in Fresh Meadows. Taveras was arraigned on the Fourth of July in Queens Criminal Court on a complaint charging him with rape in the second degree, luring a child as an E felony, endangering the welfare of a child and other related crimes.

Man in his 50s sought for exposing himself to 13-year-old on E train in Forest Hills: NYPD

Police from the 112th Precinct in Forest Hills and Transit District 20 are looking for a suspect who allegedly flashed a 13-year-old girl on a Queens subway train last month.

The victim was riding a southbound E train approaching the Kew Gardens-Union Turnpike station at around 1 p.m. on Monday, June 30, when she saw a stranger exposing himself to her, police said Wednesday. The perpetrator ran off the train at the Kew Gardens-Union Turnpike station and fled in an unknown direction. The youngster was not injured during her encounter with the stranger.