Protection against skimming What is skimming?

According to the FBI, skimming is the copying of data from the magnetic stripe of the bank card by means of an illegal scanner (skimmer).

Skimmers installed on ATMs are usually very hard to detect. Users don’t even notice that their card data is being copied while they are using the machine.

In shops, dishonest employees skim the cards of their clients by means of miniature hand-held readers.

Now there are even viruses which can be used by hackers to infect ATMs and POS terminals and which serve as virtual skimmers.


Skimming statistics

    Approximately € 5.5 billion are annually lost to skimming worldwide.
    The numbers have grown by about 15% per year for the last 5 years.
    80% – 90% of all bank card fraud is related to skimming.
    On average, between € 500 and € 1,200 are stolen from each skimmed card.
    In the United Kingdom the loss from skimming for 2012 was over £ 38 million.
    In Germany skimming losses reached more than € 70 million in 2012.
    In the USA such losses amounted to more than € 1 billion in 2012.


What is SkimProt?

SkimProt is a high-technology sticker protected by an international patent. It comprises of four layers which safeguard smart cards from data theft and fraud.

Protective layer

A protective coating shields the sticker during the daily use of your bank card.
Magnetic layer

A magnetic stripe containing a code, instructing ATMs to use the card’s chip and zeros in place of card information.
Screening layer

A material designed specifically for SkimProt, covering completely the information contained in the card’s magnetic stripe.
Adhesive layer

A specialized glue which adheres securely to the card and at the same time can be easily peeled off, if necessary.


How to use it?

    Attach the bank card to the special template so that its magnetic stripe matches closely the opening cut into the template.
    Peel SkimProt from the backing paper and apply it neatly on the magnetic stripe, following the opening in the template The rounded corners of the sticker and the card must match.
    Press to stick well.
    Your card is now ready. You can use it without any concern about the security of your data at all ATMs and POS terminals which read chips.

Take care to position SkimProt exactly within the templates’ cut-out. If the sticker is placed incorrectly or its integrity is damaged, ATMs may not accept the bank card.