Abstract:
A card reader device has a card entrance for receiving a card and a card enclosure in registration with the card entrance. The card enclosure defines an area in which the card is read. The card reader also has a card transport mechanism for drawing a card into the card enclosure and for ejecting the card from the card enclosure. A sensor is provided for sensing displacement of part of the card transport mechanism in a direction transverse to the plane of transport of the card, and a control circuit ascertains if the displacement of the card transport mechanism fulfils an alarm criterion.

Description:
BACKGROUND  
       [0001]    The present invention relates to a card reader device. 
         [0002]    Card reader devices are typically used in self-service terminals, such as automated teller machines (ATMs), to enable a customer to identify himself/herself. One type of card reader device is a motorized card reader/writer (MCRW) device. 
         [0003]    A bank customer can access funds from his/her account using an ATM card that typically has an associated personal identification number (PIN). Any customer who presents a valid ATM card and enters the correct PIN associated with that card has immediate access to funds in an account controlled by that ATM card. This makes ATM cards vulnerable to theft and to more surreptitious attacks, such as card “skimming”. Skimming refers to illicit reading of a magnetic stripe on a customer&#39;s ATM card. 
         [0004]    With the increase of integrated circuit cards, skimming may become less common because an integrated circuit cannot be read surreptitiously as easily as a magnetic stripe. This may increase the occurrence of card capture fraud at an ATM. 
         [0005]    One method of capturing cards at an ATM is referred to as the “Algerian V” attack. It is implemented by placing a wedge of material between co-operating rollers in the card reader. By wedging the co-operating rollers open, the fraudster can prevent the card reader from ejecting an inserted card. The customer may attempt to enter his/her PIN, which the fraudster will observe. When the customer leaves the ATM (without his/her card) then the fraudster can extract the customer&#39;s card, remove the wedge, and then use the customer&#39;s card and PIN to obtain funds from the customer&#39;s account. 
       SUMMARY  
       [0006]    It is an object of an embodiment of the present invention to reduce the possibility of this type of illicit card capture. 
         [0007]    According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a card reader device comprising: a card entrance for receiving a card; a card enclosure in registration with the card entrance and defining an area in which the card is read; a card transport mechanism for drawing a card along a path and into the card enclosure and for ejecting the card from the card enclosure; a sensor for sensing displacement of part of the card transport mechanism in a direction transverse to the path of the card, and a control circuit for ascertaining if the displacement of the card transport mechanism fulfils an alarm criterion. 
         [0008]    The card transport mechanism may comprise one or more co-operating rollers, stretchable endless belts, skid plates, or a combination of these. 
         [0009]    The card reader device may be a motorized card,reader device. 
         [0010]    The alarm criterion may be based on whether the displacement exceeds a predetermined threshold. This may be obtained indirectly, for example, by ascertaining if the intensity measured by an optical sensor is below a predetermined threshold. 
         [0011]    The predetermined threshold may be programmable or it may be fixed at manufacture of the control circuit. 
         [0012]    The sensor and the control circuit may be retro-fitted to a card reader. Alternatively, the sensor and the control circuit may be incorporated into the design of the card reader. 
         [0013]    The control circuit may be coupled to an alarm, so that the alarm is triggered in the event that the displacement of the card transport mechanism fulfils the alarm criterion. 
         [0014]    The sensor for sensing displacement of the card transport mechanism may be an optical sensor comprising an optical receiver and an associated optical illumination source. The optical sensor may measure light intensity received from the optical source. The optical sensor may include an internal standard or other reference for compensating for drift due to external light sources, temperature, humidity, or other factors. Any other convenient sensing technology may be used, for example, capacitive position sensing, inductive position sensing, linear variable differential transducer sensing, Hall effect sensing, magnetic sensing, or the like. 
         [0015]    By virtue of this aspect of the invention, a card reader device is provided that detects if its transport mechanism, or part thereof, has been deflected. This will indicate if some material has been added to inhibit the transport mechanism from transporting a card. 
         [0016]    According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of operating a card reader device to reduce fraud, the method comprising: sensing displacement of part of a card transport mechanism in a direction transverse to a plane of transport of an inserted card, ascertaining if the sensed displacement fulfils an alarm criterion; and triggering an alarm signal in the event that the alarm criterion is fulfilled. 
         [0017]    According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a self-service terminal including a card reader device according to the first aspect of the invention. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
         [0018]    These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from the following specific description, given by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0019]      FIG. 1  is a front view of a motorized card reader device according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0020]      FIG. 2  is a simplified side view of the device of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0021]      FIG. 3  is a rear view of a conventional magnetic stripe card for use with the device of  FIGS. 1 and 2 ; 
           [0022]      FIG. 4  is a simplified block diagram of a part (a sensor arrangement) of the device of  FIG. 1 ; and 
           [0023]      FIGS. 5A to 5C  are block diagrams of part of the sensor arrangement measuring another part (an idler roller) during the operation of the device of  FIGS. 1 and 2 , together with graphs illustrating the measurements. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0024]    Reference is first made to  FIG. 1 , which is a front view of a motorized card reader device  10  (hereinafter “card reader”) according to one embodiment of the present invention, and also to  FIG. 2 , which is a simplified side view of the card reader  10 . Reference is also made to  FIG. 3  which is a rear view of a conventional magnetic stripe ATM card  12  for use with the card reader  10 . 
         [0025]    The ATM card  12  comprises a leading (narrow) edge  14  opposite a trailing (narrow) edge  16 , and a magnetic stripe  18  extending from the leading edge  14  to the trailing edge  16  parallel to long edges  19 . 
         [0026]    The card reader  10  comprises a card enclosure  20  (in the form of a housing) coupled to a card entrance  22  (in the form of a throat portion). 
         [0027]    The card reader  10  is a modified version of a motorized card reader available from Sankyo Seiki (Trade Mark) at 1-17-2, Shinbashi, Minato-Ku, Tokyo, 1058633, Japan. 
         [0028]    The throat portion  22  is conventional (unmodified) and defines a slot  24  dimensioned for receiving the ATM card  12  leading edge  14  first. The throat portion  22  also includes a shutter  26  pivotally coupled to the housing  20  for controlling access from the throat portion  22  to the housing  20 . 
         [0029]    When the shutter  26  is in the open position, a card (such as ATM card  12 ) may be transported from the throat portion  22  to the housing  20 ; whereas, with the shutter  26  in the closed position no card may pass between the throat portion  22  and the housing  20 . 
         [0030]    Once the leading edge  14  of the ATM card  12  passes the shutter  26 , the shutter  26  is released and biased against the top of the ATM card  12  so that the shutter  26  automatically closes once the trailing edge  16  of the ATM card  12  clears the shutter  26 . 
         [0031]    The throat portion  22  includes two sensors for verifying that an object inserted by the customer is actually a bank or credit card. The shutter  26  is only opened if the correct signals are received from both sensors. 
         [0032]    The first sensor  28  is a card width detection sensor  28 . This sensor  28  is deflected by the ATM card  12  on insertion and ejection of the card. If a customer inserts a card into the throat portion  22  then the card width sensor  28  detects the presence of this card. 
         [0033]    The second sensor  30  is a pre-shutter read head, in the form of a magnetic flux detector. This sensor  30  is located at a point in the card entrance  22  over which the magnetic stripe  18  of the ATM card  12  should pass. The first sensor  28  verifies that the ATM card  12  has the correct width, the second sensor  30  verifies that the ATM card  12  is correctly oriented. If both sensors  28 , 30  respond correctly to an inserted object (such as an ATM card  12 ) then the shutter  26  is opened. 
         [0034]    The housing  20  also includes a shutter detect sensor  40  for detecting whether the shutter  26  is open or closed. 
         [0035]    Referring specifically to  FIG. 2 , the housing  20  includes a conventional linear transport mechanism  42  for transporting the ATM card  12  along a transport path  43  when the ATM card  12  is at least partially within the housing  20 . 
         [0036]    The linear transport mechanism  42  comprises three pairs of co-operating rollers  46 , 48 , 50 . For each pair of rollers, the lower roller  46   a,   48   a,   50   a  is rotated by a stretchable endless belt (not shown) driven by a motor (not shown); whereas, the upper roller  46   b,   48   b,   50   b  is an idler roller. The three idler rollers  46   b,   48   b,   50   b  are mounted on a common plate  51  resiliently biased towards the transport path  43  by a spring (not shown) to ensure that the idler rollers  46   b,   48   b,   50   b  maintain the ATM card  12  in contact with the lower rollers  46   a,   48   a,   50   a.  The three idler rollers  46   b,   48   b,   50   b  rise and fall in unison because they are coupled by the common plate  51 . Thus, if any unauthorized material is located between any of the pairs of co-operating rollers  46 , 48 , 50 , (which is what typically occurs in an “Algerian V” attack) then the common plate  51  will rise. 
         [0037]    The housing  20  defines an entrance/exit slot  52  at one end and a card retention slot  64  at the opposite end. The housing  20  also includes a card read/write head  56  for reading data from the ATM card  12  and writing data to the ATM card  12  as necessary. The housing  20  also includes multiple sensors (not shown) for accurately locating the position of the ATM card  12  within the housing  20 . 
         [0038]    A controller  70  is provided within, or coupled to, the housing  20  to control the operation of the other components of the card reader  10 , such as the shutter  26 , the sensors  28 , 30 , the linear transport mechanism  42 , the read/write head  56 , and the like. 
         [0039]    The common plate  51  is displaced in the direction of arrow  62  when an ATM card  12  is transported between any of the pairs of the co-operating rollers  46 , 48 , 50 , and biased back to the position shown in  FIG. 2  when no ATM card  12  is present between any of the pairs of the co-operating rollers  46 , 48 , 50 . 
         [0040]    A mounting plate  66  is provided above the common plate  51 . The mounting plate  66  is fixed, and does not move with the common plate  51 . Disposed on the top of this mounting plate  66  is a sensing arrangement  80 , shown in more detail in  FIG. 4 , which is a block diagram thereof. 
         [0041]    Referring now also to  FIG. 4 , the sensing arrangement  80  comprises a receiver  82  (including a lens) in optical alignment with an illumination source  84  (also including a lens) so that an optical barrier  86  is provided therebetween. An optical control circuit  88  is provided that generates an illumination signal, and feeds the generated illumination signal to the illumination source  84  via an optical fiber output  90  coupled thereto. The optical control circuit  88  also receives and operates on an optical signal from the receiver  82  via an optical fiber input  92  coupled thereto. The optical control circuit  88  includes an optical amplifier and discrimination circuit (OAD circuit) and an electrical output  94  for triggering an alarm. 
         [0042]    The OAD circuit operates on the optical signal received via the optical fiber input  92 , and ascertains if an alarm criterion is fulfilled. In this embodiment, this is implemented by ascertaining if the intensity measured by the OAD circuit is below a predetermined level. If the alarm criterion is fulfilled, then the OAD circuit  88  outputs an alarm signal on electrical output  94  to trigger an alarm. 
         [0043]    In this embodiment, the sensing arrangement  80  is designed for retro-fitting to a motorized card reader device, so the optical control circuit  88  does not have to be located within the card reader device  10 . 
         [0044]    Any convenient optical control circuit  88  may be used. In this embodiment, the optical control circuit  88  is based on a FX301H device available from SUNX (trade mark) of Kasugai, Aichi, Japan. The optical control circuit  88  is used to amplify the output of the lens  82  and to discriminate between three conditions (i) where no ATM card  12  is present, (ii) where an ATM card  12  is present, and (iii) where foreign material is present to deflect the common plate  51  to a point where an ATM card  12  could not reliably be transported. The sensing arrangement  80  is configured so that all of these three conditions can be sensed. An alarm condition is triggered when the third condition (foreign material present) is sensed, as described in more detail below. 
         [0045]    This is illustrated in  FIG. 5A  for the condition where no ATM card  12  is present, that is, prior to an ATM transaction. In this condition idler roller  46   b  (and therefore also the common plate  51 ) is not displaced because there is no ATM card  12  present beneath any of the idler rollers  46   b,   48   b,   50   b.  As a result, the top of idler roller  46   b  barely protrudes through the optical barrier  86 . The measured intensity  100  is less than the maximum intensity from the illumination source  84  but much greater than the intensity for the alarm level  102 . 
         [0046]      FIG. 5B  illustrates the condition where an ATM card  12  is present, that is, during an ATM transaction. In this condition the idler roller  46  (and therefore the common plate  51 ) is raised but the optical barrier  86  is not completely blocked, so there will still be some measured intensity  104 . This measured intensity  104  is greater than the intensity for the alarm level  102 . 
         [0047]      FIG. 5C  illustrates the condition where the idler roller  46  (and therefore the common plate  51 ) is displaced beyond the normal distance when an ATM card  12  is present. This has occurred because some foreign material (such as a small wedge of plastics material) has been inserted between one of the pairs of co-operating rollers  46 , 48 , 50 . As a result of the deflection of the idler roller  46 , the measured intensity  106  is significantly below the intensity for the alarm level  102 . This causes the sensing arrangement  80  to trigger an alarm signal, which is relayed via electrical output  94 . Any device connected to this electrical output  94  (such as an ATM) can then raise an alarm, deactivate the card reader device  10 , lock the shutter  26  in the closed position, or perform any other required action to ensure that a customer&#39;s card is not trapped in the card reader device  10 . 
         [0048]    It will now be appreciated that this embodiment has the advantage of reducing the possibility of a fraudster capturing a customer&#39;s card because the card reader can detect when the transport mechanism has been displaced. 
         [0049]    This embodiment also has the advantage that it can be retro-fitted to existing card reader devices without having to change the firmware of the card reader device. The only changes required involve mounting part (or all) of the sensor arrangement  80  in the card reader device  10 . 
         [0050]    Various modifications may be made to the above described embodiment within the scope of the invention, for example, in other embodiments, the sensing arrangement may be designed as an integral part of the card reader device, so that the optical control circuit  88  may be provided by the control circuit  70 , and the optical amplifier and discriminator circuit may be incorporated into the controller  70 . Any alarm triggered by the sensing arrangement  80  may be relayed via a communications link from the card reader device  10 . 
         [0051]    In other embodiments, the card enclosure  20  and the card entrance  22  may be portions of a unitary device instead of being separate components coupled together. 
         [0052]    In other embodiments, any convenient card may be read by the card reader device, such as a loyalty card, a credit card, an identification card, or the like. 
         [0053]    In other embodiments, the sensor arrangement  80  could be mounted on any other convenient part of the card reader device  10 . As all of the idler rollers  46   b,   48   b,   50   b  are connected by the common plate  51 , a different idler roller  48   b,   50   b  may be measured, or a part of the common plate  51 . 
         [0054]    In other embodiments, sensor arrangements based on different technologies than optical sensing may be used. For example, magnetic sensing, capacitive sensing, inductive sensing, or the like, may be used.