Security News > 2010 > November > ATM Fraud: Skimming is #1 Threat
http://www.bankinfosecurity.com/articles.php?art_id=3053 By Linda McGlasson Managing Editor Bank Info Security November 1, 2010 Will 2011 be "The Year of the Skimmer?" After an uptick in skimming incidents already in 2010, security experts say that we will see even more skimming in the United States in the months ahead, particularly against ATMs. Lingering magnetic-stripe technology, rather than EMV chip standard used in Europe and elsewhere, is to blame, experts say. While the average ATM skimming attack spans a timeframe of between one and two hours, losses per incident average $30,000, according to ADT Security Solutions, which provides anti-skimming solutions for the financial industry. ADT also estimates that ATM skimming attacks cost financial institutions and their customers 10 times more than losses suffered during robberies. According to ACI Worldwide's Card Fraud Guide, overall card fraud continues to escalate. ACI's report shows U.S. credit and debit card losses continue to increase. In 2004, credit card losses accounted for $1.8 billion and rose to $2.04 billion in 2007. Debit card losses accounted for $810 million in 2004 and rose to $1.05 billion in 2007. Tom Wills, a fraud analyst at Javelin Strategy & Research, says criminals responsible for the skimming at ATMs and POS devices have been caught this year, but their arrests are no deterrent. "2010 has been a good year for law enforcement," he says. "But as long as there are vulnerable devices out there, the bad guys will continue to target and attack them." [...] 5B ___________________________________________________________ Tegatai Managed Colocation: Four Provider Blended Tier-1 Bandwidth, Fortinet Universal Threat Management, Natural Disaster Avoidance, Always-On Power Delivery Network, Cisco Switches, SAS 70 Type II Datacenter. Find peace of mind, Defend your Critical Infrastructure. http://www.tegataiphoenix.com/