Victoria Police are warning of a sophisticated scam that could be taking place at your local ATM.
They say criminals using so-called skimming devices and hidden cameras have targeted automated tellers at least three times in the past few weeks.
The simple-looking device can be placed over a legitimate ATM card reader and copies the victim’s personal data when they insert their card.
“Unless you look for certain tell-tale signs, a lot of people don’t realize that they’re putting their card through a skimmer when they're using an ATM,” Det. Sgt. Derek Tolmie said.
The stolen card data can then be entered into a computer that reads all of the victim’s banking information.
The best way to make sure you’re not being skimmed is to pull on the card reader, Tolmie said. If it’s easily removed or has glue on it, it’s likely a skimming device.
In addition to the skimmers, one of the affected ATMs also had a pinhole camera set up, likely to steal people’s PIN numbers.
“When they get enough people using them or time has passed, then they just swoop in. Take their thing and go,” said Tolmie.
Police won’t identify which ATM’s were hit, just that they were privately operated machines in high-traffic tourists areas.
The Downtown Victoria Business Association says it’s frustrated by the scam, but isn’t worried news of the crime will affect how people use local ATMs.
“People are going to use them. If you need to get cash you’re going to use them,” said DVBA spokeswoman Kerri Milton. “We just need to make the public aware of how to protect themselves the best that they can.”
In this case, no money was stolen because ATM operators discovered the skimming machines before they would be retrieved, police confirmed.
