Cambodia is fast becoming a hot destination for a new kind of tourist: Eastern European ATM hackers who use hidden cameras, card skimmers, and keypad overlays to steal data about debit cards from unsuspecting customers.

Disguised as parts of the ATM, these tools can steal your card’s magnetic strip data and PIN. Since last November, five would-be ATM thieves have been caught attempting to plant these skimmers on ATMs in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap.

Most of these hackers come from crime syndicates in Romania and Bulgaria. The nonprofit European ATM Security Team said they are flooding to Asia in part because many European ATMs require cards with chips. Fortunately for the hackers, many banks in Asia are still using outdated machines that read the card’s magnetic strip instead of a chip...

There are some telltale signs that an ATM has been tampered with, and watching for these clues could save your card information from falling into the wrong hands....

Anchor Moy wrote:For the 5 guys busted, how many have got away with it ?

Anchor Moy wrote:It's hardly a crime wave - 5 criminals arrested these past few months. However, there's no secret to it; criminal gangs from eastern Europe target countries like Cambodia, where bank security is less developed than elsewhere, because it's easy pickings. If crime syndicates are flying people to Cambodia from Europe, it's not for nothing. For the 5 guys busted, how many have got away with it ?
Not a lot new in this KT article, but it is always good to be reminded that you have to be more careful when the banks are not always up to speed. I'm the first to admit that i don't always take as much care as I should. Plus a few signs to look for to tell if an ATM machine has been tampered with:

Cambodia is fast becoming a hot destination for a new kind of tourist: Eastern European ATM hackers who use hidden cameras, card skimmers, and keypad overlays to steal data about debit cards from unsuspecting customers.

Disguised as parts of the ATM, these tools can steal your card’s magnetic strip data and PIN. Since last November, five would-be ATM thieves have been caught attempting to plant these skimmers on ATMs in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap.

Most of these hackers come from crime syndicates in Romania and Bulgaria. The nonprofit European ATM Security Team said they are flooding to Asia in part because many European ATMs require cards with chips. Fortunately for the hackers, many banks in Asia are still using outdated machines that read the card’s magnetic strip instead of a chip...

There are some telltale signs that an ATM has been tampered with, and watching for these clues could save your card information from falling into the wrong hands....

I'm not going to copy and paste their whole article so read on if you're interested:

http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/21569/cash-ex-machina/

General Mackevili wrote:

Anchor Moy wrote:For the 5 guys busted, how many have got away with it ?

This. The first thing I'm investing in when I get back to Cambodia is an ATM skimming machine.

Spoiler:

And maybe a bodyguard.

Spoiler:

Awake or asleep ?

Anchor Moy wrote:

Spoiler:

Awake or asleep ?