Jitter-bug To Thwart Atm Theft
The Age
Friday May 25, 2007
BANKS are hoping new "jitter" security measures being progressively introduced at ATMs will deter thieves attempting to "skim" customers' bank accounts.
But they deny skimming is widespread, despite an incident where international thieves targeted a Westpac ATM in Box Hill this week.Skimming can involve attaching a device over the card slot that reads the information stored on the magnetic strip of keycards. Sometimes a small camera can be secured to an ATM to capture the user's personal identification number. Westpac officials say less than $100,000 was stolen from Box Hill by thieves working from Toronto, Canada, before the activity was detected by the bank. They said the bank would cover the losses."Jitter" technology in ATMs makes cards unreadable to skimming devices. Westpac has introduced the security feature to 70 per cent of its ATMs. -- HELEN WESTERMAN
© 2007 The Age
