Fake ATM at Defcon … not the brightest idea

I realize there are stupid criminals out there after all we see them on half hour TV shows all the time I think this one has to rank up there as far as being a dumb idea.

Much like a robber trying to rob a bar where off-duty cops like to hang, the idea of someone putting a fake ATM machine meant to steal people’s information at this hotel where this year’s Defcon conference was held doesn’t show much in the way of smarts. That didn’t deter someone though as the conference goers found out when they noticed the machine that some said just didn’t look right.

As the conference was kicking off a few days ago, attendees noticed that at ATM placed in the Riviera Hotel, which plays host to the annual event, didn’t quite look right, according to a senior conference organizer who identified himself only as Priest. “They looked at the screen where there would normally be a camera,” he said. “It was a little bit too dark, so someone shined a flashlight in there and there was a PC.”

The ATM looked like a working system, but when people would put their cards in the machine, it would scan their card information and record the PIN numbers they entered. He didn’t know how long the ATM had been at the Riviera.

Conference organizers notified local law enforcement who hauled away the machine on “Thursday or Friday,” said Priest, who said he works as a “civil servant” in his day job.

Source: Computer World :: Fake ATM doesn’t last long at hacker meet

The idiots may not have realized they were putting the machine into a hotel that would soon be the temporary home to 8,000 security professionals but given this is Las Vegas one would hope that it would have been found out in short notice.