ITTO961044A1 - ANTI-SCAM KEYBOARD FOR AN AUTOMATIC BANK TERMINAL - Google Patents

Description

Description of the industrial invention entitled:

'ANTI-SCAM KEYBOARD FOR AN AUTOMATIC * BANK TERMINAL "

TEXT OF THE DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to an anti-fraud keyboard for an automatic bank terminal, suitable for preventing fraud against the users of the terminal and comprising a plurality of keys each representing a number and / or graphic symbol and which can be selectively implemented to enter data into the terminal. . In particular, the keyboard is designed to prevent the actuations of its keys by the user from being detected by strangers to trace the user's confidential data, such as his personal identification code (PIN) which, as is known, enables the carrying out of banking operations.

A known system for fraudulently detecting a user's PIN is that of spreading a very thin sheet on the keyboard of the terminal, practically unrecognizable both to the sight and to the touch of the user, and suitable for detecting his / her fingerprints while typing the data. Once the banking operation has been completed by the user, the sheet is detached from the keyboard and the fingerprints detected are used to trace the PIN data.

Another possible scam is to hide a camera in the vicinity of the keyboard to record the movements of the user's fingers when typing their data, so as to be able to trace the same data by subsequently analyzing these movements.

In currently known keyboards the keys are indicative of numbers and / or symbols univocally associated with them, so that the data entered can be easily detected with the systems described above.

The object of the present invention is to provide a device which is very effective against any type of fraud and in particular those described above, and which, moreover, can be easily installed, at low costs, even in bank terminals already in operation.

This object is achieved by an anti-cheating keyboard according to the present invention which, in accordance with a first embodiment, has the characteristics defined in claim 1. According to another aspect of the invention, the anti-cheating keyboard can have a further form of embodiment, the characteristics of which are defined in claim 7.

in particular, the first embodiment is suitable for being installed indifferently in bank terminals located both in supervised and unattended environments, being effective both in avoiding frauds by means of cameras and by means of the sheet that can be spread over the keyboard.

The further embodiment is instead suitable above all for being installed in bank terminals located in supervised environments, where it is possible to carry out a scam only by means of the sheet superimposed on the keyboard, since it is practically impossible to install cameras in a supervised area.

These and other characteristics, purposes and advantages of the present invention will appear clear from the following description of some examples of embodiment of the invention, made purely by way of non-limiting example, with the aid of the attached drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an automatic bank terminal in which an anti-fraud keyboard according to the present invention is installed;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a first embodiment of the keyboard according to the present invention;

Fig. 3 is a partial section along the line 11-111 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a functional block diagram of the keyboard of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the keyboard of Fig. 2; Fig. 6 is a partial sectional view of a second embodiment of the keyboard of Fig. 2;

Fig. 7 is a functional block diagram of the keyboard of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a plan view of a further embodiment of the keyboard according to the present invention;

Fig. 9 is a partial and sectional view of the keyboard of Fig. 8; And

Fig. 10 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the keyboard of Fig. 8.

With reference to Fig. 1, an automatic bank terminal 10, usually referred to by the abbreviation ATM from the English expression "Automatic Teller Machine", incorporates an anti-fraud keyboard 11 according to the present invention. The keyboard 11 is mounted on a fixed structure 12 of the terminal 10 and is associated with a series of operating units of the latter, such as for example a video 13, a reader 14 for personal cards, a device 16 for issuing receipts and a money dispensing unit 15, to allow a user to carry out a banking operation through the terminal 10 itself.

In particular, before any generic banking operation, the user is enabled to carry out this operation by introducing his personal card into the reader 14 and typing his PIN on the keyboard 11. If the data read by the reader 14 on the personal card and the data entered on the PINs are correct in the sense that both correspond to the data stored in the terminal 10, then the user is enabled to perform the desired operation.

With reference to Figs. 2-4, the keyboard 11 comprises a support box 21, a front 23 arranged on a face of the keyboard 11 facing the user, a plurality of keys 24 that can be activated by a user to enter data in the terminal 10, an electronic circuit 26 arranged under the keys 24, and an output line 27. Upon each actuation by the user, each key 24 is able to generate a corresponding actuation signal S1, which is intended to be received by the electronic circuit 26. This the latter in turn is adapted to process the actuation signals S1 of the various keys 24 to generate corresponding output signals S2 indicative of the data set by the user. A line 27 is provided for transmitting the signals S2 outside the keyboard 11 to the computing unit of the terminal 10.

Both the structure 21 and the front 23 have a particularly sturdy structure to protect the exterior and interior of the keyboard 11 against vandalism and tampering of various types, for example aimed at detecting the signals circulating in the keyboard 11 itself to steal fraudulently the data set by the user.

The electronic circuit 26 is divided into a main circuit 28 which directly receives the actuation signals S1 generated by the keys 24 and a safety circuit 29 associated with the main circuit 28 and suitable for making the transfer of data from the keyboard 11 to the units safe. for the calculation of the banking terminal 10. For this purpose, the security circuit 29 is suitable for arranging the output signals S2 in a particular secret form, also called encrypted, aimed at preventing the signals from being decrypted in order to fraudulently obtain the relative data.

The keys 24 are associated with a plurality of numbers and / or graphic symbols 25, each of which is represented on a corresponding key 24 to indicate the data that can be set and entered in the terminal 10, by actuating the key itself.

According to a characteristic of the invention, the keyboard 11 is provided with means able to randomly vary, between two successive banking operations, the numbers and / or symbols 25 represented on the keys 24, so that the fingerprints left by the user's fingers on a sheet arranged , for the purpose of fraud, above the keyboard 11 do not allow to uniquely determine the numbers and / or symbols that have been typed in by the user himself.

In particular, each key 24 comprises a luminous matrix 31, with known characteristics and also called "digit", which is constituted by a plurality of elements which can be selectively illuminated to represent the numbers and / or graphic symbols 25. The various matrices 31 are mounted on a support plate 33 connected to the main circuit 28 and carrying suitable circuits for powering the matrices 31.

The various matrices 33 are adapted to be controlled by! main circuit 28 to vary, between two successive banking operations, the brightness of the respective illuminable elements, so that the numbers and / or graphic symbols 25 represented on the matrices 31 change according to a law of a random type, but in any case in such a way that at each variation all the numbers and / or symbols 25 necessary to enter the data appear globally on the various keys 24. It is therefore clear that the keyboard 11 is capable of presenting, during a generic banking operation, an arrangement of the numbers and / or symbols 25 on the keys 24 different and unpredictable with respect to the provision presented during the previous banking operation.

According to methods widely used in the art, the random variation of the numbers and / or symbols 25 represented on the keys 24 can be obtained by means of a specific circuit, integrated in the electronic circuit 26 and of the type suitable for generating random numbers.

Each button 24 further comprises a piezoelectric element 32 arranged above the luminous matrix 31 and able to generate, by effect of a pressure by the user, the signal S1 indicative of the actuation of the button itself. The various piezoelectric elements 32 are supported by a sheet 35, and each have a circular crown shape around a hole in the sheet 35 with the purpose of allowing the user to observe the number or symbol displayed by the matrix 31.

A flexible plate 36, arranged above the sheet 35 on the external face of the keyboard 11, is provided with transparent areas in correspondence with the luminous matrices 31 to allow observation of the relative numbers and / or symbols 25 and is sufficiently thin to flex in a manner to transmit the user's pressure to the various piezoelectric elements 32 below to activate them.

A cable 37 connects the sheet 35 with the electronic circuit 26 to transmit to the latter the various actuation signals S1.

The electronic circuit 26 is also provided with circuits suitable for associating the actuation signals S1 generated by the piezoelectric elements 32 with the numbers and / or graphic symbols 25 represented on the keys 24 at the time of their actuation, in order to introduce the data into the terminal 10. actually set by the user.

The operation of the keyboard 11 described up to now is as follows. At the beginning of each new banking operation, the user introduces his personal card into the reader 14. When the terminal 10 verifies the presence of the card itself, the electronic circuit 26 controls (step 41 of Fig. 5) the luminous matrices 31 in so as to vary according to a random rule the numbers and / or symbols 25 represented on them, so that the latter assume a completely unpredictable arrangement with respect to that which they had during the previous banking operation. At this point the user enters his data (phase 42) by pressing on the various keys 24, so that the piezoelectric elements 32 relating to the keyed keys generate corresponding actuation signals S1 which are received by the electronic circuit 26. The latter associates (phase 43) the actuation signals received with the actual arrangement of the numbers and / or symbols 25 on the keys 24 at that moment, so as to ascertain the data actually introduced by the user. These data are finally transferred outside the keyboard in encrypted form by means of the output signals S2 traveling along line 27.

A second embodiment of the anti-cheating keyboard, indicated with 111 and represented in Figs. 6 and 7, comprises a support box 115, a substantially transparent and tactile screen 112, a display 113 arranged under the screen 112, and a main electronic circuit 126.

The screen 112, the characteristics of which are known, is commonly referred to by the English expression "touch screen" and is endowed with tactile properties in the sense that, when it is somehow touched on its surface, it generates a corresponding contact signal S3. In particular, the screen 112 is provided with a grid suitable for conveying the contact signal S3 thus generated towards a suitable recognition circuit, integrated in the circuit 126, suitable for recognizing exactly in which area of the surface of the screen 112 the contact has occurred. .

The display 113 is for example of the liquid crystal type (LCD) and is suitable for displaying the numbers and / or graphic symbols 25, indicative of the data that can be set with the keyboard 111, inside areas 114 arranged in a predetermined manner on the surface of the display 113 itself.

These areas 114 with the relative numbers and / or symbols are clearly visible to the user, since the screen 112 is transparent.

The electronic circuit 126 is adapted to control the display 113 so that the numbers and / or symbols 25 displayed in the areas 114 vary randomly between two successive banking operations, similarly to what has already been seen for the keyboard 11.

In using the keyboard 111, the user sets his own data by touching the screen 112 in correspondence with the areas 114 with the numbers and / or symbols indicative of such data, whereby he activates a series of contact signals S3. The latter are received by the circuit 126 where they are associated with the above areas 114 and with the numbers and / or symbols 25 represented therein at that moment, so as to ascertain and introduce in the terminal 10 the data actually set by the user.

Figs. 8 and 9 represent a further embodiment of the anti-cheating keyboard, which is generically indicated with 211 and consists of a conventional keyboard body 212, provided with keys 224, and a device 213 suitable for detecting the presence of foreign elements on the outer surface of the frets 224.

More in detail, the device 213, also called the conveyed wave type, comprises an emitter 214 suitable for emitting sound waves 215 having predetermined characteristics and a receiver 216 suitable for receiving such waves to measure their characteristics. The emitter 214 and the receiver 216 are arranged opposite each other on opposite sides of the keyboard 211 so that the waves emitted by the receiver 214 are conveyed along the surface of the keys 224 towards the receiver 216.

The operation of the keyboard 213 is as follows.

At the beginning of each banking operation, the device 213, in step 231 (Fig. 10) checks whether the characteristics of the waves 215 received by the receiver 216 conform to the predetermined ones of the waves emitted by the emitter 214. If so, the keyboard 211 prepares itself to receive the user's data, so that it can carry out the banking operation regularly. During the execution time of the operation, the device 213 is disabled, in order to prevent the device 213 from unduly signaling an alteration of the state of the surface of the keys 224 due to user typing.

If not, the keyboard 21 1 signals to the user (step 232), for example by displaying an appropriate message on screen 13, that the surface conditions of the keys 224 are altered compared to normal conditions and that therefore it is necessary to intervene to remove the cause. of this alteration. At the same time the keyboard 211 is disabled, so that the user can no longer continue to carry out the banking operation. This impediment persists until the cause of this alteration is removed.

It is understood that various modifications and / or improvements can be made to the anti-cheating keyboard corresponding to the preferred embodiments described above without thereby departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims (1)

CLAIMS 1 - Keyboard ariti scam for an automatic bank terminal, comprising a plurality of keys which each represent a number and / or graphic symbol and which are selectively operable to input data into the terminal, characterized in that electronic variation means are provided for varying the number and / or symbol represented on each of said keys. 2 - Keyboard according to Claim 1, in which each of said keys is adapted to generate a corresponding electric actuation signal and in which an electronic circuit is provided to receive said electric actuation signal, characterized in that said electronic circuit is adapted to associating the actuation signal with the number and / or graphic symbol represented on the key at the moment of its actuation, in order to introduce in said terminal the data corresponding to said number and / or graphic symbol. 3 - Keyboard according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said electronic variation means comprise a luminous matrix for each of said keys and by that each luminous matrix is capable of being illuminated variably between two successive banking operations, so as to display a different number and / or graphic symbol on the corresponding key. 4 - Keyboard according to Claim 3, characterized in that each of said keys comprises a piezoelectric element for generating said actuation signal, in that the piezoelectric elements of the various keys are arranged on a sheet superimposed on said luminous matrices, and thereby that each of said piezoelectric elements is associated with a transparent area of said sheet to allow observation of the number and / or symbol represented on the respective key. 5 - Keyboard according to Claim 2, characterized in that said electronic variation means comprise a display having a plurality of areas which each define a corresponding key, by a tactile type screen superimposed on said display to generate the electric signals for the actuation of said keys, and from what each of said areas is adapted to represent a different number and / or graphic symbol between two successive banking operations. 6 - Keyboard according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said electronic variation means comprise means for generating random numbers, so that the numbers and / or symbols represented on said keys vary randomly between two successive banking operations. 7 - Anti-fraud keyboard for an automatic bank terminal, comprising a plurality of keys which each represent a number and / or graphic symbol and which can be selectively used to enter data into the terminal, characterized by a device of the conveyed wave type to signal an alteration of the state of the surface of said keys between two successive banking operations.