Two Chinese nationals involved in ATM skimming remanded into FIA custody

KARACHI: A judicial magistrate remanded two Chinese nationals allegedly involved in ATM skimming into the custody of Federal Investigation Agency till January 18.

The investigating officer (IO), appearing before the magistrate, shared that the suspects had trouble understanding English and added that a group of eight to 10 people were part of the gang involved in ATM skimming.

The judicial magistrate inquired, using hand gestures, from the Chinese nationals if they were tortured or maltreated. Replying to this, a Chinese National gestured that he suffered an injury to his head, indicating that he was beaten up after his eyes were covered.

However, the IO said that the suspect had bumped into the wall intentionally.

The judge also ordered the IO to bring along a translator in the next hearing so that the court gets to know the name and relevant details of the suspects.

WHAT IS ATM SKIMMING?

ATM skimming is like identity theft for debit cards: Thieves use hidden electronics to steal the personal information stored on the card and record the PIN number to access all the cash in an individual’s account.

That’s why skimming takes two separate components to work. The first part is the skimmer itself, a card reader placed over the ATM’s real card slot. When an individual slides his/her card into the ATM, he/she is unwittingly sliding it through the counterfeit reader, which scans and stores all the information on the magnetic strip.

Another technique employed in this crime is the use of a hidden camera, which records your PIN code and conveys it to fraudsters.

A few ATM skimmers also change the entire display of the ATM.