Item — HN Reader

That is an interesting quote:

“It [the skimmer] will immediately disrupt those wishing to operate via Russian ATMs: A majority of the BINs [Bank Identification Numbers] of Russian banks are hardwired into the chip; they are not processed.”

I wonder whats behind that move; are russian banks more dangerous to have as an enemy? Did they pay ransom money to the developer?

3 comments

There was a law recently passed in Russia that criminalizes development, production and distribution of skimming devices. So the Russian guy selling those is probably trying to make it less likely that authorities will go after him.

Perhaps the maker/seller lives in Russia. Presumably Russian authorities would be more responsive to a complaint from a Russian bank than from a foreign bank.

Devices developed by Russian intelligence and then leaked into the market?