$.3m stolen via card skimming in 3 days

POLICE are investigating reports that card skimmers managed to siphon off almost $300,000 from the bank accounts of 60 people over a three-day period.

According to a police release on Thursday, investigators from Fraud Squad received 60 reports of people being skimmed between Monday and Wednesday.

A skimmer is an electronic gadget that can be disguised to look like it is part of the exterior of an ATM (automated teller machine). When a customer inserts his/her debit or credit card into the ATM, the skimmer "captures" information entered by the customer such as the card's PIN (personal identification number). This information can then be replicated on to counterfeit cards allowing the criminal to withdraw money for the victim's account. The release advised customers to pay close attention to ATMs for any unusual shape, configuration, evidence of glue or duct tape that may suggest the machine was tampered.