Last March we were following the story of debit card PIN numbers being stolen with the magnetic stripe information. It was thought to be a hacked computer system at the core of the problem. That compromise caused 600,000 debit cards to be reissued.

Now, in Ottawa, Canada thieves are going into the merchants stores to do their work. They switch the existing keypad for a modified one. These Interac machine keypads store data on 200 cards and have been put in at least a dozen stores. This data can be used to create duplicate cards. And the thieves are using these to steal about $1,000 per account.

It is believed that store workers are aiding in this process. They may just be ignoring the person making the keypad switch, or they could be paid to do so. The investigation continues.