How Cloned Cards Work

How Cloned Cards Work. Card cloning is a complex criminal operation that involves several steps:

1. A collaborator is enlisted—typically someone who has physical access to credit cards, such as a cashier or restaurant server.

2. They are provided with a skimmer, a small device designed to capture card information. This can either be a standalone device or an attachment to the card reader.

3. The customer presents their card to the accomplice for payment.
4. The accomplice swipes the card through the skimmer in addition to the regular point-of-sale (POS) machine.
5. The accomplice returns the card to the unsuspecting customer.
6. The thief then transfers the information collected by the skimmer onto the magnetic strip of a counterfeit card, which may even be a stolen card.
7. This counterfeit card can be used just like a legitimate card, or for further fraudulent activities like purchasing gift cards or other types of card fraud.

There are variations to this method. For example, some criminals may attach skimmers to handheld card readers or ATMs. The result is the same as long as customers swipe or enter their cards normally, allowing the thief to retrieve their device later: all the data on a credit or debit card’s magnetic strip is captured when the card is swiped through the skimmer.