Current ATM card skimming scam

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#601116 28-Mar-2012 10:04

Oblivian: Quite strange really given the later explained point. For a while I was upgrading eftpos units pre RWC for some customers to the card-in-pinpad type, And still they perfer take the card over counter.

Is this because many customers find it difficult to get the card in the right way for each different machine and then to get a good card read the first time? I get an impression some machines are worse than others even when new, and some degrade with time.

BlueShift

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#601119 28-Mar-2012 10:16

gzt:
Oblivian: Quite strange really given the later explained point. For a while I was upgrading eftpos units pre RWC for some customers to the card-in-pinpad type, And still they perfer take the card over counter.

Is this because many customers find it difficult to get the card in the right way for each different machine and then to get a good card read the first time? I get an impression some machines are worse than others even when new, and some degrade with time.

I, for one, think the world needs a standard on which way the stripe should face on a card reader. Every time you swipe your card, you need to stop and decipher the glyph on the machine that indicates whether the stripe should be facing in towards the machine (sensible) or away from the machine (seems like silly engineering).

gzt

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#601120 28-Mar-2012 10:20

If the standard specified it has to work on both sides that would save a lot of trouble : )

trig42

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#601122 28-Mar-2012 10:22

gzt: If the standard specified it has to work on both sides that would save a lot of trouble : )

+1. I have often wondered why they don't do this.

BlueShift

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#601126 28-Mar-2012 10:31

trig42:
gzt: If the standard specified it has to work on both sides that would save a lot of trouble : )

+1. I have often wondered why they don't do this.

It would save trouble, but would involve two read heads in the device, so presumably extra cost and an extra part to break. If every machine swiped on the same side, it wouldn't cost any more, or involve any more engineering, it'd just make life that tiny bit easier.

I suppose with chip cards, and NFC on the way it won't be an issue in 4 or 5 years' time. Just bonk your phone on the reader & walk away.

GregV

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#601163 28-Mar-2012 11:54

BlueShift: Every time you swipe your card, you need to stop and decipher the glyph on the machine that indicates whether the stripe should be facing in towards the machine (sensible) or away from the machine (seems like silly engineering).

I never bother with the pictures, I just look in the slot for the actual read-head. Works every time :)

BlueShift

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#601171 28-Mar-2012 12:03

GregV:
BlueShift: Every time you swipe your card, you need to stop and decipher the glyph on the machine that indicates whether the stripe should be facing in towards the machine (sensible) or away from the machine (seems like silly engineering).
I never bother with the pictures, I just look in the slot for the actual read-head. Works every time :)

But you still have to look - every time. If it was 'hold card with black stripe by thumb' every time, there'd be no more squinting into slots for you!

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Skolink

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#601187 28-Mar-2012 12:30

GregV:
BlueShift: Every time you swipe your card, you need to stop and decipher the glyph on the machine that indicates whether the stripe should be facing in towards the machine (sensible) or away from the machine (seems like silly engineering).
I never bother with the pictures, I just look in the slot for the actual read-head. Works every time :)

Haha same. I usually misinterpret the pictures if I try using them.

old3eyes

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#601190 28-Mar-2012 12:35

Shouldn't the banks be crawling into the 21st century and all efpos cards be chipped like the credit cards meaning no card swipe just plug in..??

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Old3eyes

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#601191 28-Mar-2012 12:38

BlueShift:
trig42:
gzt: If the standard specified it has to work on both sides that would save a lot of trouble : )

+1. I have often wondered why they don't do this.

It would save trouble, but would involve two read heads in the device, so presumably extra cost and an extra part to break. If every machine swiped on the same side, it wouldn't cost any more, or involve any more engineering, it'd just make life that tiny bit easier.

I suppose with chip cards, and NFC on the way it won't be an issue in 4 or 5 years' time. Just bonk your phone on the reader & walk away.

The card readers on our Ricoh printers at work both ways and never seem to play up. You'd think that high turnover places like Mac Ds would get higher through put by adopting such readers? Though I suppose that's why they've gone NFC instead?

alasta

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#601480 28-Mar-2012 19:25

gzt: You would still match your eftpos reciepts with your POS/register daily. I don't see how they would get away with it.

The age old trick is to overcharge the customer via Eftpos and then steal cash out of the till to balance it back. Of course that only works if the register is too primitive to record different types of tender, or if the manager is to lazy to train staff on how to use this feature or to reconcile each individual tender total on the Z report.

mattwnz

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#601487 28-Mar-2012 19:34

BlueShift:
trig42:
gzt: If the standard specified it has to work on both sides that would save a lot of trouble : ?)

+1. I have often wondered why they don't do this.

It would save trouble, but would involve two read heads in the device, so presumably extra cost and an extra part to break. If every machine swiped on the same side, it wouldn't cost any more, or involve any more engineering, it'd just make life that tiny bit easier.?

I suppose with?chip cards, and NFC on the way it won't be an issue in 4 or 5 years' time. Just bonk your phone on the reader & walk away.?

I would think it would be cheaper in terms of lost time, and wear on the machine. The read head would cost a minimal amount, it is just a magnetic reader, which is very old mass produced technology.With single sided ones, people often have to put it through at least twice, once for the wrong side, and then for the correct side, and teh sencond time they tend to force it through hard due tot eh frustration, causing potential damage. Each machione seems to read it a different way, and the picture showing the right side is in 3D so doesn't really help. That is why you often see shops putting on a 'strip this side' handwritten note on the side.
Surprised NZ doesn't have a standard which these machines must adhere to. We have standards for most other things.

gzt

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#601496 28-Mar-2012 19:41

alasta:
gzt: You would still match your eftpos reciepts with your POS/register daily. I don't see how they would get away with it.

The age old trick is to overcharge the customer via Eftpos and then steal cash out of the till to balance it back. Of course that only works if the register is too primitive to record different types of tender, or if the manager is to lazy to train staff on how to use this feature or to reconcile each individual tender total on the Z report.

Thieves could do something similar on a purely cash basis of course, so I don't think it makes a lot of difference in practice for many businesses, but then an integrated POS does eliminate one possible vector.

sleemanj

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#601507 28-Mar-2012 19:45

mattwnz: With single sided ones, people often have to put it through at least twice, once for the wrong side, and then for the correct side, and teh sencond time they tend to force it through hard due tot eh frustration, causing potential damage.

Then when that doesn't work a third time, super fast, the fourth really slow, then it's up and down up and down quickly, and finally it's either give it to the assistant for the plastic bag treatment, or try another card.

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alasta

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#601521 28-Mar-2012 19:57

gzt:
alasta: The age old trick is to overcharge the customer via Eftpos and then steal cash out of the till to balance it back. Of course that only works if the register is too primitive to record different types of tender, or if the manager is to lazy to train staff on how to use this feature or to reconcile each individual tender total on the Z report.

Thieves could do something similar on a purely cash basis of course, so I don't think it makes a lot of difference in practice for many businesses, but then an integrated POS does eliminate one possible vector.

I think it would probably be a bit easier to get away with on an Eftpos transaction because customers probably quite often don't check the dollar amount on the display before they enter their PIN. I always force myself to check it each time - I find that it's not a natural habit.

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