The Federal Bureau of Investigation recently released their first quarter 2011 bank crime statistics report revealing a slight decrease in U.S. bank crimes.

Listen to a recent podcast from Bank Info Security — U.S. Mag Stripe Fuels ATM Skimming — as ADT’s John Pearce discusses the importance of having a layered security plan to combat this serious crime.

According to the U.S. Secret Service the loss to ATM skimming each year is about $1 billion dollars. There are solutions for the problem – devices that can be added to an ATM that will detect the skimming activity and shut down the fake card reader. There are also signs that ATM users should look out for.

ATM skimming costs American financial institutions about $1 billion annually. It’s a worldwide problem, but the U.S. is particularly vulnerable due to the magnetic stripe on the back of ATM/debit cards that stores personal financial information.