Data Thieves Target Debit Cards, PINs At Point Of Sale

Using brash ingenuity, criminals out to steal your personal data are tampering with the checkout machines in department stores, supermarkets, gas stations and even your doctors' office.

Their prime target: your debit card account number and personal identification number.

Thieves use ruses, such as posing as repairmen to alter and corrupt payment terminals — installing skimmers and storage devices that capture account numbers from the magnetic strip on a card as well as the PIN numbers the customer keys in.

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"Technology is making it easier for criminals to develop smaller, more effective skimming devices," says Dale Dabbs, CEO of identity theft protection service EZShield.