What A Card Skimmer Looks Like On An ATM

My card was recently compromised by using either the ATM or MTA Metrocard Machine. When thinking back the MTA's machine did seem to not swipe my card correctly the first time. I'm thinking this is where it happened at Grand Central Station off 42nd Street enroute to the shuttle to Times Square.

A lot of you have been asking to see what a skimmer looks like before it's yanked off an ATM. Are they easy to spot or virtually unnoticeable? Our reader Timeus works for a bank and deals with this sort of thing every day, and he sent in the following photos. Enjoy.

He writes,

“

Now, let me explain some of the pictures. The scary thing when it comes to skimming device problems is that, the skimming device itself is only half the battle, per se. Take the following example.

See that gray rectangular box? That box was attached to the lighting above the ATM screen. If you look closely, you see a small pinhole in that box? There is a camera in that box, aimed right down at the ATM keypad where people enter their pin codes. Here's this device pulled off, sitting on the ground upside down, to show you the camera, with its Sony Lithium-Ion battery powering it.

[Editor's note: another reader, Will Z, sent us a link to a tiny battery-powered video camera he found through a simple Google product search. It looks strikingly familiar.]

Also included are pictures of the skimmer on the ATM, as some members of the site had asked to see, as well as the skimmer when it was removed.

The strange thing that gives this away to me as a skimming device is that the skimmer itself appears to be a part of what we call a Dip-Reader. A Dip Reader is where you slide your card in and out, like on the card reader you see in this picture of a Shell Gas Station card reader:

The other type of Card reader we use is what we call a motorized reader, where you slide your card in, and the machine takes the complete card, and then ejects it when you're done with your transactions. From the pics of this location, they stuck the housing for a dip-reader onto an ATM that has a motorized reader. That's a huge red flag to me, had I been someone who walked up to use this ATM before the reader was found.

”

Timeus also points out that even though the standard customer service rep may have no idea how to respond to your call if you try to report a suspected tampering, the bank's ATM security people will definitely want to know. He left a lot of good information in the comments to this post, so we've collected it together below for easier access.

“

I won't lie, skimming devices are still uncommon to come across. I can't tell you how many times we've spoken to a technician who says, "Well what do you know? I've heard of these things but this is the first time I ever saw one, what do you want me to do with it?" Not to scare anyone, but I've spoken to more than one police officer who has said, "Ok, what do you want us to do with it?"

The bank has to tell these people what to do with them, a lot of the time. Some PD will hold the device as evidence while our investigations unit tries to build a case and find out who was responsible, some PD simply destroy it, it seems to vary frm one police department to the next.

[...]

If we get notified, we can begin notifying all potentially affected customers and begin the process of safeguarding their accounts. If we don't get notified, potentially hundreds, maybe thousands of accounts are at risk for fraud depending on how busy a particular ATM is.

[...]

We have procedures for situations where an ATM skimming device is found. There's almost always a number on the ATM to call in the case of any emergency, that goes directly to our Corporate Security Department. They will contact us, unless a customer gets to my department first via Customer Service. We would immediately shutdown the ATM, dispatch a Second level technician to the site to evaluate the situation, remove the device, and send out a Privacy Event Notification to our investigations department as well as dispatch the police to meet our vendor tech on-site. We would also pull all ATM logs and submit that information with the Privacy Event Notification to notify all customers who were potentially effected.

In the future, if you ever come across a skimming device on an ATM, if you have the time, I know we appreciate a call to be notified. Trust me when I say, when a device is found, "alarm and whistles" go off in my department, upper management is notified and everyone gets involved.

”

In other words, if you end up talking to a standard CSR who doesn't get what the big deal is, try to find a way to reach the bank's security or fraud department instead.

Gainful Employment Act Could Benefit Non-Profits & For-Profits & Work To Their Advantage

It has been over two weeks since the gavel came down at the U.S. Senate hearing examining for-profits and deceptive recruitment/financial aid tactics. The highlight was the release of videos of congressional investigators catching the largest for-profit schools “in the act.” While the hearing was little more than a forum for politicians to pontificate, it had a devastating impact. The secret-shopper scenes could not be defended and ever since, the media has been full of highly critical articles of how for-profit schools are taking gross advantage of students and taxpayers.

Over the past week, much of the chatter has turned to the implementation of so-called Gainful Employment regulations that would in effect establish price controls and eliminate certain occupational programs. These career programs are some of the most popular and profitable offerings for companies such as Kaplan, EDMC, and Corinthian Colleges. While the proposed regulations would apply to all institutions, the impact would mostly be felt by for-profit entities. Ironically, many of the schools that were highlighted by the secret-shopper videos are schools that would be most impacted by Gainful Employment.

Many of the larger for-profit education corporations have warned investors that regulatory changes and most specifically Gainful Employment could have a materially adverse impact on their businesses. These warnings coupled with all the negative press out there are not only hammering stock prices but also leaving many of the for-profits with questions on what to do next and what may happen next. Conversely, many non-profit institutions are trying to determine how they might be able to benefit from all of this.

STRATEGIES FOR FOR-PROFITS

Let’s start with ideas for the for-profits. The largest obstacles for having students obtain “gainful employment” so that they are in a position to benefit from their education and repay their student loans are a) making sure students actually persist until completion and b) securing appropriate employment opportunities for students. For-profits that have found ways to address these two issues (and there are ones that have) have a significant advantage.

For-profits should consider implementing proactive retention strategies as well as career placement solutions. This starts with providing each and every student with a caring, dedicated Retention or Reenrollment Counselor. The focus of this counselor should be to get to know each and every student as well as their unique needs. Furthermore, this counselor should make consistent contact with the student to check-in, motivate, and mentor. Whether it is providing a bridge to student services, social services, academic advisors, or financial aid; this counselor should be trained and empowered to help remove any and all obstacles that might prevent a student from completing a specific program. In essence, a counselor should act as a student’s advocate and be just as passionate about seeing a student graduate as an Enrollment Counselor might be to matriculate a prospective student.

Retention Counseling should be supplemented by professional Career & Education Advisors who not only help students write a resume or show them how to login to Monster.com but can prepare students for interviews, build confidence, and work as each student’s partner in securing employment. These advisors should be available to students not only before graduation but long afterward.

Another key strategy is administering a simple online personality assessment to all new students that measures student strengths and weaknesses in 15 key areas. The assessment provides counselors, career advisors, and faculty with a proactive glimpse of how each individual needs to be motivated, mentored, or coached.

These solutions seem costly and complex. The reality is they are, however, the ROI is substantial. Clients of ours that utilize these solutions see on average a 26% improvement in graduation rates and a 39% improvement in career placement even in today’s challenging economy. Not only do these solutions allow schools to better serve their students while providing better outcomes but they also help schools with their bottom line. Finally, schools that promote the existence of these services will recruit more students – especially in the current press climate!

For-profits also need to ensure their programs are at the cutting edge of employment demand – ensuring that students have a better chance to secure employment and maximize earning potential. The cumulative effect of all these strategies is to enhance enrollment revenue and profitability, possibly enabling schools to lower prices without reducing their margins which is so important to Wall Street.

HOW CAN NON-PROFITS BENEFIT

There is no way to sugar coat it. With each passing day, the for-profits are gaining a worse reputation than BP and the common cold combined! This provides non-profits with a unique opportunity to benefit at least in the short-term. While I prefer strategies that allow for long-term gains, a short-term advantage can help many non-profits generate more momentum that can produce long-term results. So what are the 3 key steps that every tuition dependent non-profit that loses student enrollments to for-profit schools should consider taking?

First, an applicable institution (schools that are not highly selective and cater to non-traditional students) must come to the realization that even though they may not compare themselves to a for-profit school, they may be losing students and relevance at the hands of for-profits. Stakeholders must decide to change and act with time of the essence so that they may effectively compete. Part of this decision involves taking risks and thinking outside of the box. There are many resources out there to help schools do just this. Further, institutions do not need to sacrifice their values or educational quality but they should realize that whether they like it or not for-profits will and (in the long-term) probably continue to be a growing competitive force that will draw students.

Next, schools must reevaluate their offerings. If non-traditional students are being served, fully online options should be available. Online programs should be of the highest quality, interactive, accelerated, and applicable to today’s most relevant career opportunities. In some cases, this may mean that institutions may need to look to offer new programs. In other cases, existing programs may need to be modified or reinvented. By way of example, an MBA with a concentration in Accounting that was popular 5 years ago may need to be retooled into a Masters of Accounting program that has much greater career relevancy today.

Finally, non-profits should not only focus on their strengths such as history, having traditional campuses, reputation, full-time faculty, and distinct missions but also on areas that have been traditional benefits offered by the for-profits – acceleration, career-focused programs, flexibility, and in many cases technology. Providing special support services including the type of proactive retention and career counseling mentioned earlier is also key – as it is a competitive advantage compared to most for-profits and non-profits alike.

Dancing With The Stars Cast Revealed

The 12 participants for the next edition of ABC’s Dancing With the Stars were announced tonight during a live teleconference in Hollywood. They are:

Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino, from MTV’s Jersey Shore

David Hasselhoff, best known for his roles on Baywatch, Knight Rider, and America’s Got Talent

Rick Fox, retired pro basketball player from the Los Angeles Lakers. “They had concerns about my height,” Fox told EW after the press conference. “Jason Taylor broke a little bit of the mold, which made it possible for me. There aren’t a ton of tall female dancers, so it puts a strain on those women. But I’ve shaken a lot of the fears of whether my body could actually do some of the things I’ve seen on this show.”

Bristol Palin, daughter of ex-Alaska governor Sarah Palin.

Kurt Warner, retired NFL quarterback

Florence Henderson, best known for her role TV’s long-running comedy The Brady Brunch

Audrina Patridge, from MTV’s The Hills. “When they asked me, I was like, `Yes, I want to do it!’ We get to learn from professionals, very talented dancers. But it is intimidating because it’s live, and, I mean, there are so many different dances to learn. I’ve never done this before!”

Michael Bolton, singer-songwriter

Brandy Norwood, singer-songwriter and star of the old UPN comedy Moesha

Margaret Cho, comedienne and current co-star of Lifetime’s Drop Dead Diva. “I’m so out of my element. Everybody is so classy,” she told EW. “If this was Dancing with the Whores, I would do better. But it’s not, so we’ll see.”

Kyle Massey, best known for starring in Disney Channel’s That’s So Raven

Jennifer Grey, actress best known for starring in Dirty Dancing. “It felt like the right time,” said Grey, who’s been approached by the show before. “It felt like, `OK if not now, when? What if I did something that would be fun? What if I just went for it I love the idea of it. It’s not what I used to do but I feel like, right now there is where my head is at. I have to walk through fear to go to joy.”

The professional partners won’t be revealed until Wednesday. Dancing with the Stars returns on Sept. 20.