A man who identified and disabled a card-skimming device on a Kiama money machine says people should give suspicious-looking ATM parts “a good pull” to test their authenticity.
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“Anything that moves on [an ATM] shouldn’t be there,” Eli Maguire, 36, told the Mercury. “Give it a good pull; check it yourself.”
A short video showing the red-bearded Mr Maguire popping a suspicious component off a machine at ANZ’s Terralong Street machine lit up the internet on Friday.
In a video viewed 66,000 times in its first seven hours, he removes a black component from the machine face, then turns it around to reveal camera and battery parts.
“Boom – there you go,” he tells the camera.
Fly-in, fly-out mine worker Mr Maguire used the ATM before, recalling a YouTube video on skimming devices, he realised there was something strange about the unit fitted over the card slot.
“There was a bit of a gap there and it had a tinny, plastic-y feel. I gave [the skimmer] to the clerks then went outside and looked for the camera,” he said.
“The skimmer catches the information of the card itself; the camera catches your pin number.
Admirers of Mr Maguire’s video have praised his “serious detective work” and suggested his actions had spared a lot of financial heartache.
But according from an ANZ spokeswoman, the device likely wasn’t working.
“As ANZ ATMs are equipped with anti-skimming features, we do not believe any customers that have used this ATM would have had their card skimmed. We will be monitoring for suspicious card activity.”
The bank has pledged to cover the losses of customers who fall victim to fraud, including card skimming, provided they have not contributed to that fraud.
The ATM was out of order for several hours but has since been restored.
Lake Illawarra police are investigating the device, which will undergo forensic analysis.
To guard against the risk posed by skimmers, police encourage people to regularly check their bank statements, and look for suspicious aspects of ATMs before using them.
Cardholders should also refuse to have their card taken out of their line of sight and should ensure the carbon copy of any manual transaction is destroyed.
Contact Crime Stoppers to assist police – 1800 333 000.
