Diebold Inc. introduced a re-engineered bezel—the portion of an ATM containing the card slot and the surrounding area—and its Opteva BezelSentry Service to detect and help prevent skimming activity.

The re-engineered bezel incorporates geometric fascia alterations, making it more difficult for perpetrators to attach a skimmer to its surface and is designed to eliminate the market inventory of card skimmers. It also helps protect the integrity of the bezel during removal attacks and features a removal switch that will send an alarm notifying the financial institution of any attempt to remove the bezel.

In addition, Diebold is now offering the industry's first interchangeable bezel service. Similar to a subscription service, the Opteva BezelSentry Service helps financial institutions stay one step ahead of would-be perpetrators by delivering prescheduled or emergency bezel changes to an individual ATM or an entire fleet.

“As skimming attempts continue to increase, the interchangeable bezel is an extremely valuable tool within our multilayered security approach,” says W. Curt Tiettmeyer, vice-president, ATM administration, Fifth Third Bank. “It provides us with an innovative solution to mitigate card skimming and enhance protection of the ATM channel.”

All shipped Diebold Opteva ATMs will be equipped with the new interchangeable bezel design. Diebold has been shipping terminals equipped with the new interchangeable bezel design since December 2010. Previously shipped Opteva terminals can be retrofitted with the re-engineered bezel. Future bezel replacements will be available with minimal impact on ATM uptime. The bezel upgrades are available across the global market for all motorized and dip card reader ATMs.

http://news.diebold.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=5139