An app designed by University of California San Diego scientists has been used to detect the signatures of Bluetooth credit card skimmers at petrol stations. "All criminals have to do is download the data from the comfort of their vehicle," said Nishant Bhaskar, a Ph.D. student in computer science at the University of California San Diego who authored a study on the app. In one year, 44 law enforcement and state government volunteers have used Bluetana to track down 64 skimmers who used 1,185 petrol stations in six states. The researchers behind the project say that they are not trying to stop people from using their phones for illegal purposes, but rather to help them avoid being caught when they do. Computer science PhD student Nishant Bhaskar said Bluetana eliminated the false positives of rival skimmer-detection apps, which sometimes pick up the Bluetooth signals of innocent devices.
An app designed by University of California San Diego scientists has been used to detect the signatures of Bluetooth credit card skimmers at petrol stations. In one year, 44 law enforcement and state government volunteers have used Bluetana to track down 64 skimmers who used 1,185 petrol stations in six states. The researchers behind the project say that they are not trying to stop people from using their phones for illegal purposes, but rather to help them avoid being caught when they do. Computer science PhD student Nishant Bhaskar said Bluetana eliminated the false positives of rival skimmer-detection apps, which sometimes pick up the Bluetooth signals of innocent devices.