GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Researchers at the University of Florida’s cyber security research lab will launch the first
large-scale security tests of its original skimmer detection device this November, marketed as the “Skim Reaper.”
Professor Patrick Traynor, of the university’s cyber-research department, said the prototype, developed over the course of three years, is set to be manufactured by a Texas company to be offered to both law enforcement agencies and retailers across the country.
Traynor said he was a victim of skimmers three times and wanted to do something about it.
“It’s really hard to tell how many skimmers are out there because they’re so hard to find," he said. “It's estimated now that we only find 5 percent of the devices and we hope our device will allow us to pull more of them from the machines.”
Traynor said the initial order will start with 100 devices followed by 500 and then 1,000 devices, depending on demand.
The initial cost will be $450 per device, to cover development and research costs.
Traynor expects a more affordable version of the “Skim Reaper” to be available to consumers by the middle of 2019.
“There’s an arms race here and the bad guys are making these increasingly small and even more difficult to find in the machines,” Traynor said.
The devices, first issued to detectives in New York City and Gainesville, have been effective in detecting external skimmers.
Detective Sgt. Nick Ferrara, of the Gainesville Police department, said the “Reaper” is an added tool to track down the devices thieves install in ATMs, gas pumps and point-of-sale locations like Walmart and other big box stores.
“They hit the entire nation and they will hit here in Gainesville,” Ferrara said. "A lot of them (hackers) are in Florida but with origins in South America like Brazil and Venezuela.”
Ferrara said the skimmer circuit generates “big money” in stolen cash and data.
“When they hone their skills they can make hundreds of thousands, if not almost millions of dollars,” Ferrara said.
According to Ferrara, Gainesville, a college town with a population of more than 131,000, has only reported a maximum of 12 skimmers in a one-year period.
In cities like Orlando, Tampa and Miami, police say the incidents of illegal skimmer devices is much greater.
Christian Peeters, a doctoral candidate, helped develop the hardware and design for the “Reaper.”
“It took well over a year to fine tune and fit the device,” Peeters said. “It’s been through a lot of iterations over the time that we have been working on it.”
Peeters said the device picks up the additional “read head” or skimmer installed by hackers.
“We’ve got to have a quality product that could pretty much detect what we threw at it,” Peeters said.
Traynor said the feedback from law enforcement has been positive and the hope is that the Skim Reaper
will be used globally to stop the skimmer infiltration.
For more information on the skim reaper go to: www.skimreaper.com.