Bad guys are always eager to beat the latest technology as they beat a path to our hard-earned money. Skimming information from debit cards is the latest, growing threat.

There have been several reports of thieves who have installed special skimmer sleeves around the card slots on ATM machines. They blend right in with the face of the machine, so customers are none the wise when they use their cards to withdraw money. The transaction goes off without a hitch but the skimmer records the card number and the all-important PIN. Later, the crooks can empty out that customer’s bank account at their leisure.

Police are now reporting a new wave of thefts, using another of the criminal tools the bad guys find so handy—the retail card terminal you see in stores, right by the cash register.

First, thieves distract the store clerk and then replace the store’s card terminal with one of their own. And their own device has a skimmer that records all debit numbers and PINs. Thieves can then return at a later date, distract the clerk once again and retrieve the phony terminal with all the numbers and PINs.

Police in Edmonton are reporting definite increases in this type of crime. Police in Lethbridge, Alta., arrested a 23-year-old Montreal man two weeks ago, after security guards at an Alberta bank witnessed some suspicious activity. The man, police discovered, was carrying three dozen data cards with PIN codes written on them, along with ,200 in cash. The information on the phony cards had been skimmed at a local restaurant back in June.

And that’s the sneaky part of the crime. Customers never know when the information on their debit cards was stolen and have no idea when the information will be used to steal their money.

Police believe that two major gangs are circulating in the country, moving from city to city, switching store terminals and then returning in their own sweet time to pick up the phony terminals and convert them into cash.

And unless an observant security guard is watching the bad guy using several cards at the same ATM, getting the money is quick and simple.

The ATM system operator, Interac, says it reimbursed debit cards customers a staggering 2 million last year alone.

The banks are always reminding us to protect our PINs. And that’s good advice. Interac is suggesting that changing our PIN’s every month would be a good idea.

I know that sounds like a hassle, breaking in a new PIN when the old one was so easy to remember. But breaking in a new PIN sure beats the hours and days you could spend on the phone trying to explain and prove that somebody drained your bank account.