Article

HOLE-IN-THE-WALL NOT ALL IT SEEMS

ATM machines – what most of us call the hole-in-the-wall – are a familiar fact of life.

So familiar, that when we use them to withdraw money from our account, most of us don’t even give the actual appearance of the machine a second glance.

Well, maybe we should. Because clever fraudsters are using these same machines to steal our ATM card details, and therefore steal our money. They are able to fit a device on the machines – a false front – that instead of quietly processing your bank details to enable your withdrawal, actually puts those same details into the hands of fraudulent people – ATM crooks.

It’s all done with cameras. The crooks fit a device at the front of the ATM that can record and film every card which is put into the ATM. A hidden micro-camera captures all the details on your card. So, at the wink of an eye (or, more accurately, the camera shutter), they have all your details and can use them to withdraw your money for their purposes.

So next time you use an ATM, take a second to actually look at it. If there’s anything that doesn’t look quite right, it may be that it isn’t quite right – and you’ll be the loser!

Story by D.Feldman