ADT develops mini EMP to fight bank card skimming

February 20, 2012

Financial fraud rings often use skimmers, realistic looking card readers placed over factory card readers, at ATMs or gas stations, to steal payment card information. Because skimmers are virtually undetectable by users, in a few hours, criminals can steal data from hundreds of cards. The card data is written onto blank payment cards and then used to withdraw money or make purchases later.

With this in mind, ADT Business Solutions created a new technology that uses electromagnetic technology to both detect and prevent skimming devices on ATM machines. When installed on an ATM, the device can block skimming devices from being able to download payment card data and an alarm feature alerts the bank of the presence of a skimmer. Read more