Cybercrooks can be notoriously cheap, considering how much they typically get for nothing. I’m reminded of this when I occasionally stumble upon underground forum members trying to sell a used ATM skimmer: Very often, the sales thread devolves into a flame war over whether the fully-assembled ATM skimmer is really worth more than the sum of its parts.

Such was the fate of an audio-based ATM skimmer put up for sale recently on a private crime forum. The seller, a Ukrainian, was trying to offload a relatively pro-grade skimmer powered by parts cannibalized from an MP3 player and a small spy camera. The seller set the price at $2,450, but made the mistake of describing the device’s various parts, all of which can be purchased inexpensively from a variety of online retailers.

For example, he told forum members that the main component in the card skimmer as an MSR-605, which is a handheld magnetic stripe reader of the sort that you might find attached to a cash register/point-of-sale machine at a retail clothing store, for example.

This ubiquitous device can be had for approximately $200 at a number of places online, including Newegg.com and Amazon.com. The seller went on to describe the inexpensive flash storage drive that was incorporated in his device, and the modified tiny video camera that was hidden on the underside of a fake fascia designed to be affixed to the top of the ATM and record victims entering their PINs.

The image below shows the fake fascia as it appears from the side meant to be pointed toward the PIN pad.

This sales thread goes on for several pages, and the seller — beset on all sides by fraudsters charging that skimmer set is grossly overpriced — begins lowering the price. “Go ahead and use the cheap Chinese skimmers and see how they work!” the seller retorted to hecklers on the forum.

It’s unclear from the sales thread whether this skimmer seller ever managed to attract a buyer. However, two young men in Russia were arrested earlier this year for using a skimming set that was remarkably similar to this model.

Tags: atm skimmer, MP3 skimmer, MSR-605, skimmer, wincor nixdorf