Introducing the Shimmer

We are all aware of the threat posed by skimmers to steal personal information and to perpetuate fraud. The new EMV cards were a major advancement in combating them as the skimmers could only read the magnetic stripe and it seems many of them around the world were going to way of the dodo. That has all changed.

Thieves have caught up and we would like to introduce you to the “shimmer.” It is slim and can be installed quickly and without drawing suspicion. The microchip on the shimmer can read the information on the EMV chip including the PIN. Unlike a skimmer where the thief has to be within wireless distance or has to retrieve it themselves in this case all a thief has to do is put a special card in the card reader where the shimmer is located and it will transfer all of the information. It looks like they are using an ATM or a gas pump just like a law-abiding citizen and draws no extra attention to themselves. The best part for thieves is that shimmers are next to impossible to detect as they don’t require anything to be added on top of a card reader.

Several shimmers were recently discovered in Coquitlam, British Columbia and were reported to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The shimmers were detected when the merchant began to do daily testing of their POS terminals. The test card used kept getting stuck and when the terminals were opened the shimmer was discovered. The RCMP determined that with the device’s sophistication that organized crime has to be involved.

The device itself is not new. They were first found in Mexico in 2015 and required a small part to be added to the POS terminal. Since then the devices have become less intrusive and more dangerous. You can bet that the criminals are working on a way to prevent cards from being stuck and thus having their cash cow discovered. As a merchant you are on the front lines of the war on credit card theft. These new shimmers were discovered thanks to daily POS terminal testing. Since these new devices can be placed without arousing any suspicion it is important for you not only to monitor your POS terminals but to test them as well. It is only a matter of time before these devices are made better and migrate here to the United States (if they aren’t already).