Thieves are adapting point of sale terminals to steal card data over Bluetooth connections, a new bulletin from Visa indicates.
To combat the threat, Visa advises merchants to scan for Bluetooth signals, which could indicate a wireless skimming device is transmitting stolen card numbers, according to a Sept. 7 report from StorefrontBacktalk.
A bulletin Visa issued Sept. 1 lists specific units from VeriFone, Hypercom and Ingenico that the card network finds "susceptible to compromise" by this technique. Visa described instances of fraudsters removing the terminals to install skimming hardware, including Bluetooth transmitters, before putting the modified terminals back into use at checkout lanes.
Visa's suggestion to scan for Bluetooth signals goes beond what the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard requires. Th standard writers instructs merchants to scan for rogue Wi-Fi signals, the article said.
