Skimming in ‘De Carroussel’

In the first two weeks of September, bank cards of customers of ‘De Carrousel’ have been skimmed. The news was out on the 4th of November. The bankcards of victims have immediately been blocked and they received a letter of notice last weekend.

Niels van Deuren, a Business Administration student, is one of the unlucky ones. He was shocked to find out his bank card was blocked when trying to pick up the tab on a Friday night. “It seemed impossible that my balance was too low. But I couldn’t verify this with internet banking, because you need your PIN code to log in.” It took until Monday morning to find out that close to 1000 euros were deducted from his account on Friday – from Indonesia. As a result of this suspicious transaction – it is impossible to use your bank card in the Netherlands and in Indonesia the same morning – the bank immediately blocked his card to limit the damage.

Compensation

According to Michèle Belgraver, manager of facility services at the EFB, all victims have received a letter. And yet, people who have been skimmed but did not receive a notice have contacted EM. It is thus advisable to check your account balance after using your bankcard at ‘De Carrousel’. Belgraver informs us that skimming only occurred in ‘De Carrousel’ and not in other cafeterias or coffee corners on Campus Woudestein.

Replaced

All PIN-machines in the cafeteria of the L-building have been replaced by a newer model in October. This had long been planned, since customers will only be able to pay with the Chip – and not the magnet strip – come 2012.

Don’t worry

Belgraver does not know how many customers of Albron have been duped. The banks did not provide these statistics. Regardless, all victims are guaranteed to be compensated in full, following an agreement between the banks.

How does skimming work?

Skimmers install a small electronic device on PIN-machines, copying the information of the bank card. This works for ATMs as well as restaurants and shops. A miniature camera, or boldly peeking over the victim’s shoulder, is used to find out the card’s PIN code. With a replica bank card and the code, money can now be withdrawn from ATM’s anywhere. The number of victims is bound to decrease with the new model PIN-machines, because they make it much more difficult to copy the data of a bank card. LJ