Scammers using 'shims' to steal data from credit card chips
Credit Cards with Chips
(Fox 32 News) - Those new credit card chips were supposed to protect people from scammers, but if there's money to be stolen, people will find a way to do it.
The Better Business Bureau is warning people to watch out for "shimming" scams. "Shimming" is a variation on "skimming," when con artists would attach skimmers to credit and debit card terminals to steal information when a card was swiped.
Now, thieves are inserting "shims" (paper-thin, card sized devices) into the "chip" slots on ATM and credit card terminals. The shims have an embedded microchip and flash storage. When you stick your card in, it records your information and PIN. Later, scammers return to retrieve the information.
If your card gets stuck in a reader, or if it feels like you really had to jam the card in, it might have a shim inside.
The Better Business Bureau said you can protect yourself by keeping a close eye on your bank accounts.