New type of ATM skimmer found in Phuket

PHUKET: Police have warned ATM users to be on the lookout for a new type of skimming device discovered this week in Patong.



By Suthicha Sirirat

Wednesday 28 May 2014, 10:48AM

The inside of the device, with the electronics that capture card details

The warning comes after police received a call alerting them to a suspicious device attached to the card slot of a Siam Commercial Bank ATM.

The ATM is a fairly new one with a hemispherical card slot designed to deter skimming. The skimming device, however, was also hemispherical and fitted over the original. It was made of green plastic that precisely matched the colour of the original slot underneath.

Police say this is the first time this sort of skimming device has been detected on Phuket and are working on the theory that it was installed by an international skimmer gang.

The gang members would probably send the stolen card information over the Internet to another country where depositors’ accounts would be robbed using cloned cards.

Anybody who comes across a suspicious device attached to an ATM is urged to call police immediately. Police believe that the criminals are probably loitering not far from the suspect ATM, and a stake-out of the ATM could result in arrests.