Have you ever heard about skimming? Well, skimming is one of the criminal acts often experienced by bank customers. People often define skimming as an attempt to break your bank account. Technically, skimming is a process of duplicating data from the magnetic stripe in your credit/debit card. This attempt is to change or modify hardware or software on the device used for the transaction using cards as payment (skimmer device).
EDC machines, ATM machines, and ATM cards are still people’s first choices when it comes to making transactions, from withdrawing cash, storing cash, and online to debit transactions.
Skimming usually targets ATM users as victims. Victims usually suffer a sudden balance loss in their accounts with no or minimal trace. Thus, skimming is a crime that must be avoided by ATM users.
Skimming is a data theft method using a skimmer. A skimmer looks like an ATM card slot. Once an ATM card is entered, the skimmer will read and record every data contained in the ATM card. On a skimmer, there is usually a spy cam to record the movement of victims’ hands while they enter their PIN.
After everything is already recorded, the perpetrators have succeeded in obtaining the data that they need. Therefore, skimming is hard to detect. By understanding how skimming works, people can be more cautious in making transactions using their ATM cards.
Cara Menghindari Praktik Skimming
To keep your financial transaction safe, you need a number of steps to prevent any financial crime from happening. Here are some useful tips to keep you away from skimming practices.
1. Check the transaction device
As mentioned, skimming is a crime using a device that is hardly seen by your eyes. But, if you found any suspicious device at the ATM area when you are there, call Halo BCA at 1500888.
2. Cover your hand when entering your PIN
Though skimming is difficult to detect and avoid, a simple move of covering your hand when entering your PIN on the ATM or EDC machine may protect you from it. By doing so, the skimmer would find it difficult to record your hand movement when entering the code. This could minimize other people or spy cameras to peek at your PIN.
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3. Change your PIN periodically
The skimming method needs an ATM PIN code recording. Thus, you would better change your ATM PIN periodically. It could be once a week, once per three days, or even every day. It is to prevent the skimming to happen despite the ATM PIN code being successfully recorded by the skimmers.
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4. Using a chip-based card
It is customers’ responsibility to prevent skimming from happening to themselves. As highly suggested by BCA, all customers should change their cards to a chip-based card effective from 31 December 2021.
With a chip-based card, your Debit or Credit card data will be better protected because the chip uses data encryption technology. Even if the skimming device detects it, the recorded data would be in a form of codes and symbols making it impossible for skimmers to read.
BCA always tries to give you the best services possible. Thus, we take any security report seriously to keep every BCA customer’s privacy and personal data safe. To know the latest information about BCA banking safety access, follow the updates on BCA’s official social media.