 TITLE: What Is Shoulder Surfing? CONTENT: When Does Shoulder Surfing Happen?\n----------------------------------\nShoulder surfing can occur anytime you're sharing personal information in a public place. That includes not only ATMs, payment kiosks and PIN pads, but just about any place where you use a laptop, tablet or smartphone to input personal data.\nThe original shoulder surfers usually didn't loom over their victims' shoulders to scope out information. Instead, they stood a safe distance away and interpreted finger movements as people typed in numbers on a keypad. Similarly, today's shoulder surfers often escape notice as they quietly observe others in public places like airport lounges and shopping centers, bars and restaurants, on trains or subways, or anywhere people are out and about.\nWhile you may feel safe from shoulder surfing because there's no one right behind you at the ATM, today's sophisticated criminals often snoop from afar. They might use high-powered binoculars, miniature cameras, or the camera on their own phone or tablet to peer at your screen or keypad. They could be eavesdropping (sometimes using powerful microphones) as you read off credit card numbers over the phone or provide your Social Security number over the phone. Often, the criminals snap photos, take a video or record audio of the information and save it to interpret later.\nHere are some common places where shoulder surfing might occur:\n*   **At a bar**: You're at a crowded restaurant bar waiting for your date. To pass the time, you log into Instagram. Unfortunately, you don't realize the person jammed up against you is eyeing your password—which happens to be the same password you use for your email account and bank account.\n*   **At an ATM**: You're getting cash at an ATM. You feel safe because the man behind you in line is at least 10 feet away, looking at his phone (or so you think). Actually, he's recording your finger movements on his phone and will quickly decipher them to get your PIN number.\n*   **At the airport**: Your flight is delayed, so you grab your laptop and kill time in the airport lounge with a little online shopping. You're so excited to discover the shoes you've been eyeing are on sale, you don't see the woman a few seats away staring at your screen as you input your credit card information. END