Are PNB ATMs hacked using the skimmer trick?

The thieves of the country’s largest public sector bank's ATM are getting sophisticated these days. This screenplay is not the first time it is happening in India. There are too many exemplles of hacking. The undefined dark or deep web, a part of the internet which can not be accessed using traditional search engines, is now a days playing the major role for these type of illegal trading activities like guns, drugs, cash or card Information and even personal data etc.

At least 40 PNB customers on Tuesday evening received cash withdrawal message on their mobile phones, after they used ATMs at New Delhi's Sheikh Sarai and Malviya Nagar areas, even when the machine didn't dispense any cash. Suspecting hacking of software by cyber criminals, alarmed customers rushed to their respective branches. The branch manager, PNB malviya Nagar Sanjay Kumar said that the matter is under investigation.

As per the comments of Prabesh Choudhary, Director at Cryptus Cyber Security, an organisation that provides cyber security services, corporate trainings to the govt. & private organizations,  "Hackers may have used the skimmer trick in this PNB hack, as it is most widely used technique in the recent days. Anybody can be the victim of this technique because hackers place the fake card terminal in place of the original one." 

Since automated teller machines (ATMs) made their grand entry in the country, scams like the matchstick trick, glue stick trick, thermo-cam trick, skimmer trick, shoulder surfing trick, sleek trick at pouch, and sleek trick at the cash dispenser units began surfacing as conmen used all kinds of methods to obtain cash fraudulently from the machines.

What is a card skimmer ?

A skimmer is a device that thieves attach to an ATM or a payment machine to trick people who are swiping their credit cards or debit cards. The device attaches to (or over) the space where your card is normally inserted, and reads the information - which thieves then can use to compromise your accounts. Often, if the target is debit cards, the skimming device is set up on the ATM, along with a nearby camera or person watching you enter your PIN.

Shoppers can also be victimized, with fake "overlay" pieces fitted over real payment machines at stores.

If they steal your debit card information and your PIN, fraudsters have everything they need to wipe you out - or make their money by selling your data to the next thief down the line

What does a card skimmer look like ?

One giveaway that you might be at risk is if a terminal looks especially wide - since any overlay skimmer piece will inevitably take up extra space.

Indoor ATMs within your bank are not impervious to skimmers, but given the constant presence and supervision of bank employees, they are less likely to become compromised or remain compromised for an extended period of time. 

Preliminary probe indicated that the hackers must have used the same modus operandi in other areas to copy card information. Police said that they were scanning CCTV footage from the ATMs for clues and also speaking to the banks.