Tracking a Bluetooth Skimmer Gang in Mexico
Summary: During a four-day trip to Mexico, Krebs found at least 19 ATMs that had been retrofitted internally with wafer-thin Bluetooth circuit boards, roughly 1 cm by 2 cm, that store and transmit stolen card data and PINs to anyone within a few meters holding the secret key. A source at an ATM firm said technicians in the Cancun area were offered more than 100 times their monthly salary by men with Eastern European accents for physical access to machines, and the devices beaconed the default Bluetooth name "Free2Move" from a legitimate wireless communications company.
What you should know: Because these boards are wired inside the ATM rather than affixed to the exterior, they can sit undetected for months or years, and a Cardtronics technician who inspected one hotel machine found nothing wrong even after guests reported debit card fraud.
Read the original at Krebs on Security ↗
- Topics
- Fraud & Scams
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