Termyn8or
Posts: 18681
Joined: 11/12/2005
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Interesting. Now in no way do I admire these shysters, but one must give credit where credit is due.
The card reader thing, that was technology against technology. However in the other case, of switching the bogus card, that took a bit more mastery. No camera would've caught that unless whoever was watching the monitor was very very good. Even if the Woman would have noiced her card had slipped or been knocked out of her hand, all the dude had to do was to drop the bogus card and kindly hand it "back" to her. Even if the cops were standing right there it might not have been caught.
Admit it, we all saw it because we were told what to watch for. Something like that happens so fast, and the mark, as far as they're concerned the card just worked and they got their money. This was just something that happened. But then, tomorrow night they find no money in the account. Now how are they going to isolate this incident in their mind and figure it out ? In fact in the second scenario she would not even be able to find out right away that she had been cleaned out overnight. Sure records would establish that, but now go try to find the same people. Not likely.
I don't know if you want to go in this direction, but over the years I have learned a few things. Among them is that you can't stop a true pro thief. Just accept that I know a few people who used to be,,,,,,, quite active. Everyone has settled down now, but those old days, well they prove one thing, the only way to stop a thief is to slow him down.
And knowledge is power. My door is almost always unlocked at night. Of course in bed I have a gun within my reach but still it is more than that. Nobody knows that there are valuables here, and nobody knows that everyone is asleep. What's more nobody knows that the door is unlocked even ! Right now two people know and that is for a specific reason. I have a house guest who will arrive very late, only one other person other than me knows this door is unlocked. Of course you all know right now that one door in Cleveleand is unlocked, but you don't know which one. That is the key to security.
Now while I haven't used an ATM in a long time, I think I can tell you what to look for to find the first scam. That external card reader, there have to be certain things. If it a an ATM where you pull your own card out your fingers have to reach it. That means the actualy area to do so would be exposed, otherwise you couldn't get the card out and the scammers risk exposure. Much simpler would be to just look for something a bit unusual, like the protrusion of that device. What would be the matter with you pulling on it and seeing if it came right off ? That machine is supposed to be protecting your money. You would think all the parts would be firmly attached. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that I would've seen it. I'm just lucky because I don't use ATMs and there is usually only enough in most accounts to cover checks. After that they might get forty bucks. However what if they get it before the checks are paid out ?
You usually don't need a debit card or all that. If you have just ONE real credit card, I mean real credit, keep the balance low, and whenever you buy something add on the amounts of all those purchases in a billing cycle and it nullifies that part of the baleance. However if you make it so your personal check to the credit card company bounces, there is hell to pay. Even if using a real credit card at an ATM, if you get ripped off, it can all be straightened out, and in the end you MIGHT be out the interest, that's all. And no penalties.
And there is one other thing about real thieves, I mean those who develop some real skill at it. They see a challenge as exactly that, and of course that is partly opportunism. If you are guarding something closeley they will watch, it will spark their interest, "What could be so valuable ?". What's more I know one ex thief who would come out of retirement for only one thing.
This guy ran enough game on the world for ten people. He has gotten older and pretty much stopped. He knows the odds are catching up and he would rather just earn his money now, saying that it isn't worth it. But if you would say to him "You can't steal this" he would do it just to prove the point. I think he would make a good security guy, just like they used to hire safecrackers to help design a new generation of safe locks. But if you give him the challenge he takes it as such. He will give you your stuff back, or sell it to you cheap, but the point to him is that he proved he could do it.
It is not like other professions, but there are people who pride themselves in being able to do it, and those are the ones worth watching. Here we had an ATM which is impenetrable at least in broad daylight. We have technology that while old is still effective (you don't think money is handled by Windows based PCs I hope), and we have a scam that has to run in broad daylight to even work. In front of how many witnesses ? That seems to be the ultimate challenge in a way, and if someone can pull that off, they could be QUITE gainfully employed. In fact perhaps they are and don't even need the money, it may be like a sport to them.
All in all, the people in that video should be put in jail of course. But one has to give credit where credit is due. The only thing I have heard of better was when some people hacked into the actual banking system, I mean the software. This was years ago. Now that software is not DOS or Windows or even Linux or Mac. Back then it was OS2 in most places. Basically OS2 was an OS with the properties of DOS but the security of a Unix system. Now I am sure they have something better, waiting to be hacked.
As such the hacking potential must be minimized, in other words, eventually someone has to take cash out of the bank somewhere to end the "paper" trail. So then again it becomes a matter of time. If the system catches it in time, the losses are minmized. Might even catch the perps, but when they start withdrawing, they are usually ready to go. Plane tickets in hand. Nowadays it is not a big suitcase, it is a cohort to send you your cut.
And then there is the insidious scam. One little group made millions upon million just by cheating every transaction out of a penny or two. But the access they had allowed them to steal this infinitesimal sum from millions of people, many times over and over again. I don't think the authorities even know how long they had been doing it. But just a penny or two, spread across many many transactions was not easy to catch. It was not alot every time, but you see they had the time.
Time is of the essence in crime. That applies to anything almost. If you make it so they have to get a set of acetylene torches and work for an hour to steal your lawnmower that's worth about fifty bucks, guess what, you are pretty safe. But if they can make ten grand a minute you are not,,,,,,,,,
IF THEY KNOW.
T
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