What is the Card Skimmer?
Credit card skimming is a type of credit card theft where crooks use a small device to steal credit card information in an otherwise legitimate credit or debit card transaction. When a credit or debit card is swiped through a skimmer, the device captures and stores all the details stored in the card’s magnetic stripe.
You might be wonder how each & everything is weaponized to steal your hard earned money.
Gas station pumps are a different story, however. Most can easily be opened using a universal key which isn’t hard to acquire, allowing the skimming hardware to be installed inside so it’s completely invisible to unsuspecting users
To retrieve the data that’s collected throughout a day, like card numbers and PINs, criminals just need to pull up nearby and download it all over a wireless Bluetooth connection.
How does hacker use card skimmer?
Read more in https://www.thebalance.com/how-credit-card-skimming-works-960773
Is there any solution to this problem?
The team from the University of California San Diego, who worked with other computer scientists from the University of Illinois, developed an app called Bluetana which not only scans and detects Bluetooth signals, but can actually differentiate those coming from legitimate devices—like sensors, smartphones, or vehicle tracking hardware—from card skimmers that are using the wireless protocol as a way to harvest stolen data.
So far Bluetana app has identified successfully 42 Gas stations in United States. As of now, details of smartphone app has not been public because of hackers will find a way to bypass app algorithm.
Cyber Security: Awareness is the key 