Magstripe skimmers are a solved problem here in Europe; we moved on to chip and pin (EMV technology) nearly a decade ago specifically because of this kind of at

Magstripe skimmers are a solved problem here in Europe; we moved on to chip and pin (EMV technology) nearly a decade ago specifically because of this kind of attack (and, in the case of the UK, because of this: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/10/21/phantoms_and_rogues/ http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/10/21/phantoms_and_rogues/ ). There are concerns over the cryptographic integrity of PIN codes in some chip and pin implementations, but it's a much harder target for ATM skimmers, which is why organized criminals have switched to tampering with retail EPOS terminals instead. And the threshold for that is a lot higher, too. (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/3173161/Credit-card-scam-How-it-works.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/3173...) Overall, the level of card crime in the UK seems to have diminished significantly since the switchover, although the general rule applies: if you build a better safe, you'll attract a better class of safe-cracker.