Recent news reports in the U.S. have highlighted a data breach at Lucky Supermarkets, where more than 1,000 people claim their card details have been stolen in a sophisticated skimming operation. To help combat card fraud, skimming is an issue Mako Networks pays attention to, and we often find that business owners and consumers are unaware of the threat it presents.
Skimming occurs in retail environments when an extra card reader is affixed to payment terminals where customers swipe their cards, stealing the information encoded to the magnetic stripes. Fraudsters can use these details combined with PIN numbers to create clones of your credit cards.
It’s a real and present threat, as skimming incidents have grown around the world. This clip from ABC News in the U.S. gives a good overview of the situation: