Alberta Rural Crime Watch
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The Lebanese Loop

This devise has been dubbed the “Lebanese loop” as has been used by Lebanese suspects. It has taken a variety of forms over the past few months and started with just a loop of magnetic (video) tape inserted into the card slot. The tape prevents the card from being read and it just sits inside the machine.

In most cases, a suspect is in the vestibule or in the ATM line who advises the user that he has seen this happen before, and to get the card back you have to enter your PIN three times and press the cancel key. It is at this time that they capture the PIN number (shoulder surfing).

The card does not come out, the client leaves frustrated and the suspect removed the card by pulling out the loop and, because he has captured the PIN as well, now commits fraud.

That was the initial scam. As with most, some evolution has taken place.

-due to photo’s of suspects using the ATM’s, they now take the card and PIN and use somewhere else(7-11 etc) where there are no ATM cameras.

-instead of using the card, they have been known to wait until the client leaves the vestibule, remove the card, skim the data from the mag strip, then chase after the client and give it back to him/her.

- the new loop devices apparently skim the data and collect the PIN all at once when the card is inserted.

In these cases, because there is no use of the card at the ATM, it is difficult to identify a common point of card compromise when the card is later used for fraud.

Contact:
APRCWA
Phone: 780-422-0922
Toll free: 1-877-877-4323
Fax: 780-427-3913

Web Editor
April 12, 2010