A skimmer is a little device that fits over the slot on an ATM and steals credit and debit card information when you swipe your card. They’ve been around for a while, but they are getting more and more technologically advanced. Consider this one, found in California, that even includes a little camera:
It’s hard to know whether this was a homemade skimmer, or one that was purchased from online criminal forums. Some of the skimmers sold on these forums are extremely sophisticated, incorporating features such the ability to send an SMS text message to the thieves’ mobile phone whenever a new card is swiped.
This type of fraud is actually far more common that you might think: A quick query on Twitter for “ATM skimmer” usually brings up plenty of local news reports about these devices being found on ATMs.
(via cynical-c)