A number of small, hand-held devices are now being used to copy customers' card information and duplicate it.
The "new card skimmers" are often the size of a matchbox or lighter and can be easily concealed in the fraudster's hand or anywhere on their body.
It takes someone a second or two to swipe a card through a skimming device. The devices can hold thousands of account holders' information, which is then downloaded on to a laptop or computer. Information is transferred from the computer on to a card with a reader-writer.
Information stored electronically can be emailed to any global destination. The skimmer and encoder come with a software driver CD which must be installed for them to become effective.
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The "runners" for major syndicates are often paid a fee of about R50 for each card they skim.
The trend started in the Cape Town city centre, then moved to Sea Point and other suburbs, especially those where elderly people live.
ATM attachments with card-reading software are another method of copying card information.
A figure released by Sabric indicated that, since 2005, authorities had confiscated 254 skimming devices in South Africa.
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This article was originally published on page 4 of Sunday Argus on April 05, 2009
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