The iPod nano may not be as popular as it once was, but that doesn't mean it's not being put to use. It's still being used ... you know, for things like stealing PIN codes.

Using an iPod nano to steal PIN codes might seem a little ridiculous, but it's reportedly a very effective way to do it. This is because it has a fairly decent camera and a battery that enables it to stay powered for as long as two or three weeks. Not only that, but because of how thin it is, it's easy to hide above ATMs.

Fortunately, however, many people are becoming a little more savvy about the method and have started checking above the ATM keypad for things that might look suspicious. Sometimes, it can be hard to spot considering the criminals behind it often cover it in plastic that matches the ATM branding.

In fact, a woman who was going to use a Barclay's ATM in Radcliffe, England noticed a piece of plastic that was out of place and gave it a little pull, only to find an iPod nano attached to it. Of course, she quickly called the police, who asked the public to check for the same kinds of things themselves.

One of the main problems here is that while a lot of cards have chips in them, many ATMs and point-of-sale machines don't have the technology to use the chip tech just yet. It's pretty easy to make a skimmer to steal card data and use an iPod nano to steal PIN codes, meaning that criminals can steal entire cards without many issues. Hopefully things like this will prompt companies to be more urgent in implementing chip-based technology, which is a lot more secure because it is always changing the data it uses.

Via: GEEK