Post alerts on ATM ‘skim’: pol

A STATE senator has proposed that banks and other businesses with ATMs be required to have signs in place to warn the public about illegal skimmers.

The devices, directly installed in an ATM, are used to record details of a person’s bank account, including their password.

Sen. Jose Peralta, a Democrat who represents Jackson Heights and other parts of Queens, filed the bill in Albany last week.

“It’s one of the top 10 scams in New York City,” Peralta said. “This is just a bread-and-butter issue. No one wants to get scammed, so why not have a sign.”

Indeed, the Silicon Valley analytic software firm FICO said in March that the number of compromised cards nationally rose 70% in 2016, and the number of hacked card readers grew by 30%.

In 2015, the number of times cards were compromised jumped by 546% over 2014, FICO said.

Most of the breaches took place at nonbank ATMs.

The signs would contain a description of what skimming is, steps customers can take to protect themselves, and contact information for the state attorney general’s office to report contact with skimmers.

Businesses that don’t comply would face fines of at least $250, according to the measure.