A device for checking the regularity of the operation of automatic payment terminals

Field of the invention:

The present invention relates to the field of control and surveillance devices for checking the regularity of the operation of automatic payment terminals, specifically automatic terminals employing payment card readers of the contact- type.

State of the art: Automatic payment terminals or self-service terminals, hereinafter generally referred to as "automatic terminals", are ever increasingly used to carry out money transactions.

Said automatic terminals are normally comprised of a magnetic card or microchip reader, an alpha-numerical keypad for the user to enter codes and information, and a display for displaying information allowing the user himself/herself to interact with the automatic terminal so as to carry out the desired transaction.

The use of said automatic terminals normally implies the insertion by the user of a magnetic stripe card, hereinafter simply referred to as "credit card", in the slot of the appropriate reader, and the subsequent input of a personal identification number (PIN) associated to the card, but only known to the user, on the basis of the instructions shown on the display said automatic terminal is provided with. If the automatic terminal recognises the validity of the code entered by the user and its association with the inserted card, it authorises the execution of the requested operation. In recent years, the use of these automatic terminals has greatly increased and, along with the increase in the use thereof, events of damage to and tampering with said automatic terminals have also enormously increased, these events compromising the functionality thereof or allowing to make use of the offered services and money transfers connected thereto in a fraudulent manner. For instance, in order for a unauthorised person to gain access to benefits restricted to another person's credit card and maybe effect unauthorised accesses to his or her money deposits, it is required to both obtain the data stored in the card, and find out the corresponding PIN or other possible means used to confirm

the identity of the user of said card.

It is therefore clear that the main targets of the above said frauds include credit card readers, the step of inputting the identification data of the user and means used for such a purpose. The most commonly used systems for such a purpose comprise the fitting of false interfaces in the slot of the magnetic card reader of the automatic terminal in order to intercept the relevant data as they are communicated during a normal transaction by the user. Often, said false interfaces comprise an additional magnetic card reader so that the information stored in the introduced card may be read as soon as the card is inserted in the slot of the magnetic card reader of the automatic terminal. The data which are intercepted in this manner may then be used to manufacture a counterfeit card by "cloning" the original card. In a similar manner, to obtain the PIN of the user whose card is being cloned, a false keypad may be employed, which is overlapped to the alpha-numerical keypad of the automatic terminal so that, when said user enters his or her PIN, the entered sequence is recorded by the false keypad. As an alternative, the user may simply be observed, for instance by means of a miniaturised video camera which has been appropriately hidden, while he or she is entering his or her PIN, which is thus recorded, later retrieved and used in conjunction with a counterfeit card as previously seen in order to carry out fraudulent withdrawals of funds from his or her account, these withdrawals possibly continuing even for a considerable period of time before being discovered. Therefore, there is clearly the need (which represents the first object of the present invention) to provide a device which may counteract the practices described, so as to guarantee the secrecy of the transfer of the information connected to the use of credit cards and the like in automatic terminals. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a device for checking the correct operation of automatic terminals and the absence of tampering therewith for any purpose, with particular reference to the field of automatic terminals provided with credit card type card readers. Brief description of the drawings:

Figure 1 shows an example of automatic payment terminal with the main components thereof highlighted.

Figure 2 shows a block diagram of the device according to the present invention. Detailed description of the invention: The present invention is based on the consideration that any system for the misappropriation of confidential information connected to the use of payment cards must necessarily be able to read the information content of the magnetic stripe or microchip of the card itself by means of a reading device which is appropriately placed near to the original one employed by the automatic terminal. For this reason, the present invention provides a device which is capable of checking the conformity and the regularity of the operation of the automatic terminal and the possible tampering therewith by detecting the possible presence, at the credit card reader, of apparatuses that are external and foreign to the original automatic terminal, probably installed to misappropriate the confidential data of the users using said automatic terminal so as to clone their cards and later use them in a fraudulent manner.

The device according to the present invention operates so as to measure the relative distance of some elements which are considered to be representative of the original and correct configuration of the automatic terminal itself. In a preferred embodiment of the device, it will be associated to the credit card reader of the automatic terminal which will have to be provided with an opening configured so as to allow the installation of said device and provide the elements with reference to which the above measurement is carried out. With reference to accompanying Figure 1 , the representation of an example of automatic terminal is shown. As usual, there are a display 13, an alpha-numerical keypad 14 and a payment card reader 15 provided with a slot 10 for the introduction of the card itself.

According to the present invention, said slot 10 is provided with at least one projection 11 , 12 at its sides. Within said projection there is installed a distance meter facing the possible other projection or the side opposite with respect to the slot of the credit card reader. This meter is designed and operates so as to detect the distance existing between its own position and the opposite projection (or the

first obstacle encountered in such a direction) and between its own position and that of the nearest edge of the card which is inserted in the reader. The result of every measurement is compared with reference values and the result of the comparison gives rise to a possible alarm signal in case the measured values are not consistent with the "standard" ones, thus interpreting this difference as an indication that some kind of foreign body has been installed near the magnetic card reader of the automatic terminal. Said alarm signal may be accompanied by a shut down of the entire automatic terminal. In a second possible embodiment of the present invention, said projections are respectively designed in an upper and lower position instead of laterally with respect to the slot of the magnetic card reader.

Further preferred embodiments may also have different positions for said projections, it being understood that the internal faces thereof are mutually parallel. The measurements carried out by the device according to the present invention may be carried out when the card is inserted in the slot or when it is ejected or at both steps, thus making the check of the conformity of the automatic terminal a part of the normal operation of the automatic terminal itself. The check of the regularity of the automatic terminal carried out by the device, which is the object of the present invention, is not carried out upstream of the normal operative step, as in the antifraud systems of the state of the art, but rather during the step itself, in a dynamic and non static manner.

The distance meter employed in the device according to the present invention is preferably of the ultrasonic type, but other kinds of meter may be employed, for instance photoelectric cells or infrared ray detectors.

With reference to Figure 2, a block diagram of the device according to the present invention is shown. Said device comprises a distance detector module 20 comprising in turn at least one ultrasound transmitter capsule 21, a control module 22 for said transmission capsules and a microprocessor control module 23 associated to said control module 22 for said transmission capsules destined to calculate the detected distances and check the conformity thereof, as well as destined to communicate with external control units as, for instance, the secure

controller 24 of the automatic terminal on which the device according to the present invention is installed, through an appropriate communication line 25, for instance of the serial type. Said secure controller 24 of the automatic terminal will, for instance, be of the EMV compliant type. Said distance detector module 20 is preferably inserted within one of said two projections 11 , 12 and provides for measuring two distances: the first related to the card introduced in the slot of the reader 26, the other related to the opposite projection when present, or, as an alternative, related to the first obstacle encountered in this direction. The presence of a second projection leads the insertion of foreign apparatuses to be even more difficult near the slot of the card reader of the automatic terminal, but the presence of foreign bodies altering in any case the value of the reading carried out in regular conditions may be determined also in the absence thereof. During the operation of the device according to the present invention, said distance detector module 20 constantly keeps under control the critical area 27 surrounding the slot of the card reader of the automatic terminal. The microprocessor 23 checks the measured distance in relation to the operative step communicated by the secure controller 24 of the automatic terminal through the communication line 25. Through the same communication line 25, said controller 24 of the automatic terminal constantly checks the presence of said distance detector module 20 and its correct operation through appropriate control messages, which are possibly encrypted and with data varying according to a predetermined algorithm. In this manner, an interruption of the communication line 25 or the identification of a reply message which is different from what is expected (on the basis of the chosen encryption scheme) determines an error condition which will be interpreted by said secure controller 24 of the automatic terminal as a malfunction, and an alarm signal 29, which may determine the interruption of the service itself, will correspondingly be generated. Still with reference to Figure 2, the distance detector module 20 will check that the distances D1 and D2, in the corresponding operative steps communicated by the controller 24, fall within a tolerance set during the production step and closely

related to the position of the reference wall 28 (in a resting position, i.e. in the absence of a magnetic card), that is the position of the magnetic card in case the step is that of insertion and/or ejection of the card itself. The determined measurements will be related to the shorter distance with respect to the object of the measurement itself or may comprise a certain number of "rebounds" of the ultrasound or infrared ray beam employed, so as to perform complex paths capable of monitoring broader areas.

The distance detector module 20 thus communicates the result of the measurements to the controller 24 of the automatic terminal, which will preferably be of the secure type, that is tampering-proof, and subsequently said controller 24 takes care of recognising an operative condition which is not consistent with what is expected (as the reference distances have been altered), with a resulting error message 29 and possible subsequent shut down of the terminal. Typically, the recovery of the operative conditions requires the intervention of authorised personnel in order to provide for removing the causes for the difference, which may be due, for instance, to the insertion of a fraudulent device placed in front of the aperture of the reader.

In further preferred embodiments of the device according to the present invention, said distance detector module 20 is designed so as to be hard to tamper with and to block access to its component parts, for instance by means of coating or similar techniques.

The object device of the present invention may be employed in automatic terminals of the OPT (Outdoor Payment Terminal) or GRIND (Card Reader In Dispenser) type, which are installed in particular at service areas for the sale of fuel.