National Threat Assessment 2008. Organised Crime - Politie

‘Organised, supraregional ram raiding’ has therefore been qualified as no
specific threat.
4.7 Skimming
4.7.1 Introduction and scope
Skimming means that the data on the magnetic strip of a bank card are copied
and placed on the magnetic strip of another card. The white plastic is then used
– together with the stolen pin code – to withdraw money from the account at
another location (usually abroad). This may happen within a couple of hours of
the skimming taking place, as the magnetic strip data are sent abroad via the
Internet or by mobile phone (GSM). Skimming is a type of fraud faced seriously
in the Netherlands for the first time in 2002.
4.7.2 General context
There are two types of skimming. The first type involves the skimming of cash
machines (ATMs) and the second involves chip and pin terminals in shops (CPTs).
Skimming of cash machines
Cash machines are usually easily accessible because they are in public places.
When cash machines are skimmed the magnetic strip is copied after the bank
card has been inserted in the machine. A false front is placed over the insert slot.
This false front contains equipment that copies the data on the magnetic strip.
The false front is attached using double-sided sticky tape. After a short time
period the skimming equipment containing the customers’ details is removed.
The data are then copied onto the magnetic strip of a blank card.
The pin code for each card can be obtained in various ways: using a camera,
using a so-called ‘lay-over’ and by means of ‘shouldering’ 59 .
Skimming of chip and pin terminals
The skimming of a chip and pin terminal in shops requires a different approach
to that used to skim a cash machine. In order to attach skimming equipment
to a chip and pin terminal, the terminal is stolen from the shop at night and the
skimming equipment is attached at a different location. That same night the
59
A thin piece of plastic laid over the keypad can be used to reconstruct key strokes.
’Shouldering’ means looking over someone’s shoulder.
172 National Threat Assessment 2008 – Organised crime