I think everyone should be aware of the danger of theft or identity theft. The risk is real, more so than ever. Just think, have you counted how many times you have used your credit card in a week? Probably dozens! And chances are, you can probably count how many times you’ve been swiping your debit or credit card over the cashier. It should scare you to know that what you learn so far, to avoid identity or online theft may not work for you.

Credit Card Skimmer

You learnt not to give away the credit card or account numbers to anyone, avoiding fictitious emails asking you to enter your bank account details, watching out for phone calls pretending to be IRS agents, or responding to those decade-old Nigerian scams. You learnt all that already (hopefully by now right?) and thought you’re safe, well not so fast. Because what you’re about to see may shock you!

I stumbled on this YouTube feed on credit card skimming. What is it? It’s devices that are now being sold over the internet. These devices can sit on top of a legitimate card swiping device and read the magnetic stripe of your credit card as you’re paying for the goods you just bought. It can happen at Safeway or Target, it can happen at your local bank. It can also happy at your local gas station.

The thing that bothers me, is how real they look. In the split seconds you’re asked to swipe a card, how are you suppose to know if it’s real or not. I mean, you won’t have any time to check, nor would you want to look like an idiot examining the device in detail. Well, what you did may just gave away your valuable card information. Within minutes, hours, days, a replica of your card could be used elsewhere.


OK so after watching this short movie, you’ll probably want to know more. You can simply google the word ‘credit card skimmer’ and there’ll be sites selling people these devices, scary right? With the economy going down the toilet, people will likely want to risk using these devices. But there’re also organized criminals at work.

You should realized by now that they’ve found a way to steal your PIN code and your money with the help of device they call a skimmer, which they will install on ATM machines. Thieves then use the stolen information to create a new card. Your whole account could be wiped out, including money you had set aside for your mortgage, for your car payment, or for other payments. So you need to be real careful. You need to know what to do.

Here’s what you can do to protect yourself against card skimmers:

  • When you are at your bank’s ATM, check to make sure nothing looks loose or out of place. Familiarize yourself with an ATM’s outward appearance, and pay attention to the card slot itself. If there’s an unexpected part or sheath surrounding the card slot, either use another ATM or make your transactions inside the bank.
  • When you’re making a purchase with your bank or debit card, press “credit” instead “debit.” That way you won’t have the need to punch in your pin code. The money is still deducted like a debit, but since you are not using your PIN code, the criminals can’t steal it. And by using the “credit” option, in most cases you’ll only be responsible for $50 of any loss.

As usual, being vigilant is the most important thing to learn.


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