Atm card compromised in cozumel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[dmoore19]

I saw a news report suggesting that people use their smart phone to check for a bluetooth signal around an ATM. Might be worth considering and could end up being a good suggestion.

The story also included information of how many of these are being found at gas stations and ATMs here in the US.

 

[mediumone]

At CozumelmyCozumel.com, there is a link to an article on an ATM Skimming scheme running all over the Yucatan, from Cancun to Tulum and Akumal, all using a tiny Bluetooth chip attached internally in the ATM (so that no skimmer is apparent on the card slot or the keypad). But it is easy for anyone with a smart phone to detect a Bluetooth signal - just turn on your iPhone, iPad, or Android device, go to Settings - Bluetooth, and see what devices in your area are emitting Bluetooth signal. If the ATM which you are standing in front of has a Bluetooth signal, that signal is NOT from the ATM original equipment; it's from a chip installed by a skimmer, and you should NOT trust the machine.

I saw a news report suggesting that people use their smart phone to check for a bluetooth signal around an ATM. Might be worth considering and could end up being a good suggestion.

The story also included information of how many of these are being found at gas stations and ATMs here in the US.

The first quote is from the preceding page, post # 74.

There was a final installment that I read tonight, and the concluding sentence was:

Finally, many readers have asked if any of the skimmed ATMs I found in Mexico were bank-owned and operated ATMs, or machines on the premises of bank properties. None of them were: All were free-standing cash machines owned and operated by private companies.

As I suspected from the beginning, the author employed considerable "poetic" license, to the point that the reports and any conclusions are simply unreliable, and should be taken with a grain of salt.

The author got his 15 minutes.

 

[mstevens]

just turn on your iPhone, iPad

Likely not. The author made a point that his iPhone did not reliably detect the suspect Bluetooth signal, and that he had to go get a cheapo Android phone for that reason.

see what devices in your area are emitting Bluetooth signal

Actually, what he recommended was to look for a specific Bluetooth ID, but he also noted that there was no reason to suspect that wouldn't likely change in the near future.

If the ATM which you are standing in front of has a Bluetooth signal

How would you know what's emitting the signal without equipment capable of triangulating that?

that signal is NOT from the ATM original equipment; it's from a chip installed by a skimmer, and you should NOT trust the machine.

Possibly. Possibly not. Quite apart from the question of how one could tell the source of the signal, that is not what the author said. He said he'd identified one specific beacon ("Free2Move") that he associated with internal skimmers. The beacon is attributable to a chip from a particular manufacturer, so the same device used for innocent purposes would emit the same beacon and other chips used for nefarious purposes would emit different beacons. I have no clue whether there might legitimately be a Bluetooth signal associated with an ATM, but at least one commenter said ATM's normally do have Bluetooth.

 

[cvchief]

Or, how about the Bluetooth app? Not that I use ATMs, but I think I will stick it on my iphones and see if it works.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bluetooth-smart-scanner/id509978131?mt=8

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/btlexplorer/id532751145?mt=8

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/lightblue-explorer-bluetooth/id557428110?mt=8

Apparently it is ALL the rage for finding lost Fitbits!

 

[Pearlman]

Thank you for that warning from India. Have you ever been to Mexico? Regardless, the bank ATMs are relatively safe to use. Sadly, Mexico does allow ATMs not associated with banks, and those are risky - expensive even when not stealing otherwise. Besides, ATM cardholders in the US at least are protected by their banks. Maybe not so over there...???

Never been to Mexico. But I was a victim of the ATM scam at Puerto Galera in Philippines (hence I posted here as it is a "hot" topic for me. About $800 worth ... I got a refund from the bank a few months later. So yes, there is a procedure to follow including making a formal police complaint back in India, but it works.

Pearlman

 

[scubadada]

Even in hotel lobbies? I would think hotel lobbies would be on of the first compromised, not the last. There are skimmers everywhere. Vacation destination just get more as people are using ATMs more.



You can buy your own ATM here can't you? The small locally owned convenience stores tend to have those with outrageous rates.

Oh and:

View attachment 216442

Only a year, that's nothing for SB. My ATM card was skimmed in Milan, Italy, I did just fine in Cozumel, there you go

Too bad so many think it's an acceptable occupation to steal other people's money

 

[cvchief]

Too bad so many think it's an acceptable occupation to steal other people's money

Well it is so profitable. We dealt with a merchandise crew that traveled out of NYC buying stuff on stolen cards. I am sure they had a hotel they were working out of somewhere near. We found about 25-30 numbers from accounts all over on them, including one from Russia and a few from around Europe. Had 6-8 new Ipads with them bought on some of the cards.

Imagine the mothership in NYC that was sending these guys out. Who knows how many teams were out running around.