CARD Sharks

THE European ATM Security Team (EAST) issued a press release this week on the falling incidence of card fraud. Chip and pin cards have made it harder for the fraudsters. The level of fraud across Europe has dropped from €484 million in 2008 to €310 million in 2009. Cards skimmed here now have to be cloned and used in countries where ATMs are not yet chip and pin compliant. Fraudsters have gone back to their old tricks with the number of card-trapping attempts going up from 710 in '08 to 2166 in '09. Card-trapping gave rise to what became known as the Lebanese Loop, which is a thin piece of plastic inserted into a machine. The customer's card is trapped while the fraudster stands behind 'shoulder-surfing', to watch the PIN being in-putted. Then, of course, there's the guys who just steal a digger and tear the ATM out of building.