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Cybercrime chair falls victim to ID theft

Sep 16, 2011 Karen Umpierre

Cybercrime chair falls victim to ID theft
The chair of the U.S. Justice Department's Cybercrime Subcommittee recently became a victim of identity theft via a credit card skimmer, TIME Moneyland reports.
 Jenny Durkan, who also serves as the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington, had her credit card number and her PIN compromised, and lost $1,000 as a result.  "The thieves are very clever," said Durkan, as quoted by the news source. "What they've done is created devices they just slip over ATM machines, gas station machines, anywhere that takes a credit card." The National Association of Convenience Stores launched a program last year in an attempt to curb the skimming issue. Decals were placed on ATMs, and if someone tried to install a skimmer on a terminal, the decal would tear, providing evidence of foul play. No arrests have been made in the case as of yet. Durkin recommends that ATM customers check machines for loose parts or mirrors that could be hiding a camera, and cover the keypad when entering a PIN, Northwest Cable News reports.