First what is card skimming? Its when a malicious actor (bad guy) places a device that copies the data from your card. How can we fight against it. Well we can get something call hunter cat. This card like device will assist in checking if there is a skimmer present at the POC that you are currently at. How does it work? Hunter Cat is very simple to use. Have a battery inserted, press the button, wait for the lights to stop flashing, put card in and remove, once card is removed it will then show a single light color. The colors are as followed, Red, Amber, Green. These colors mean the following:
– Red: BAD do not insert card, skimmer has been detected.
– Amber: Also BAD, device is unsure if there is a skimmer but something is not normal. (Do not insert card)
– Green: Good to Go insert card, pay as usual.
This is obviously not a perfect tool that will always tell you that there is a skimmer or not. But it will assist the regular person. Card skimmers have become very advanced and can look exactly like the regular card slot. This is why a device such as this is great. The places that these card skimmers are mainly seen are at gas station pumps, either pay inside or use this device. Please stay safe out there!
Card Skimming how to stop it!
