Credit card skimmers are still out there – and everyday more and more people become a victim of credit card fraud because of them – it’s just as common as being hacked online. It’s important to know how to spot a credit card skimmer, so you can avoid financial loss. Credit card skimmers can be on anything – the POS terminal at the register of a grocery store, a pump at the gas station, the ATM machine outside your bank.
<h3>How to detect credit card skimmers:</h3>
<h6>Make sure nothing moves.</h6>
Credit card skimmers can attach directly to the top of machines and might also be underneath the pin pad. Don’t be afraid to pull or tug at the machine and to wiggle on the pin pad. If anything moves or feels loose, don’t use the machine. This is a step that will only take you a few seconds but can save you financially.
<h6>Compare your machine to the one next to you.</h6>
If you’re at a gas station or outside a bank and there are multiple machines around you, compare yours to those ones. Make sure the colors are the same and there are no extra parts on yours. And if you do see extra parts on the one next to yours, it’s in your best interest to avoid all the machines in that area. That's right, get in your car and go to a separate location. Unfortunately, there might not always be a machine next to yours.
<h6>Check for hidden graphics or text.</h6>
If a credit card skimmer has been installed onto the machine, it might cover up pieces of the machine – which means it could cover up graphics or text that came with the machine. If this is the case, look for graphics that are partially concealed – for example, a cut off word. This is a telltale sign that the machine has been tampered with.