A warning from police on Thursday that thieves are using a new high-tech way to get at your money.
According to the RCMP, a major Coquitlam business found very slim, plastic cards known as ‘shimmers’ planted inside four of their point-of-sale terminals. The ‘shimmers’ house microchips that can illegally capture banking data on customers’ credit and debit cards. If the data is successfully stolen, it allows thieves to create fake debit or credit cards.
These new, tiny card shimmers are a step up on the technology previously used, which was bulky and called ‘skimmers.’
“You can’t see a shimmer from the outside like the old ‘skimmer’ versions,” said Cst. Alex Bojic with the Coquitlam RCMP Economic Crime Unit in a release.
“Businesses and consumers should immediately report anything abnormal about the way their card is acting. That’s especially true if the card is sticking inside the machine.”
No suspects have been arrested in Coquitlam, but Mounties are continuing to investigate the incident.
After speaking with other investigators outside their region, Coquitlam RCMP found the card shimmers are starting to pop up everywhere.
How can you protect yourself?
Cst. Bojic says a good way to keep your data safe from shimming is to use the tap feature on your credit or debit cards since each tap transfers very limited banking information; which cannot be used to clone your card.
Police are asking anyone who finds a shimmer to call RCMP immediately.