| ATM Scam Protect your card and pin # Bank ATM's converted to steal bank customer IDs A team of organized criminals is installing equipment on legitimate bank ATMs to steal both the ATM card number and the PIN. The team sits nearby in a car receiving the information transmitted wirelessly over weekends and evenings from equipment they install on the front of the ATM (see photos). If you see an attachment like this, do not use the ATM and report it immediately to the bank using the 800 number or phone on the front of the ATM.The equipment used to capture your ATM card number and PIN is cleverly disguised to look like normal ATM equipment. A “skimmer” is mounted to the front of the normal ATM card slot that reads the ATM card number and transmits it to the criminals sitting in a nearby car. At the same time, a wireless camera is disguised to look like a leaflet holder and is mounted in a position to view ATM PIN entries. The thieves copy the cards and use the PIN numbers to withdraw thousands from many accounts in a very short time directly from the bank ATM. Equipment being installed on front of existing bank card slot. 
The equipment as it appears installed over the normal ATM bank slot. 
The PIN reading camera being installed on the ATM is housed in an innocent looking leaflet enclosure. 
The camera shown installed and ready to capture PINs by looking down on the keypad as you enter your PIN. 
Fake Automated Teller Machine
In New Haven, Conn., two suspects opened a fictitious ATM leasing company called Guarantee Leasing, Inc. They rented office space on Park Avenue, New York City, NY, incorporated the fictitious business, created fictitious letterhead, purchased four ATM machines and had the unsuspecting ATM company bill them.
Then they contracted a computer programming company to install a computer inside the ATM that would simultaneously capture the personal identification numbers and account numbers of anyone using it telling the computer company they planned to use the ATM and computer at a trade show simply to demonstrate the versatility of the machine.
Once the ATM was altered to capture the account numbers and PINs, it was installed at a very exclusive mall in Connecticut where they had disabled other ATMs, by jamming the ports with plastic cards and super-glue, so that all automated banking transactions were steered to their machine.
The fake ATM originally dispensed some cash, then merely displayed that it was temporarily out of service. By the time it was "out of service," however, it had captured the PINs and account numbers of many people who had used the machine.
The suspects then encoded and embossed the account and PIN numbers they had obtained on counterfeit credit cards, and a shopping spree ensued.
An alert bank employee and law enforcement efforts saved the banking industry millions in potential losses because the scammers had mapped out other malls in exclusive areas up and down the entire east coast.
The main suspect was a 51-year-old graduate of Brigham Young University with a masters in business administration from Tulane University who had been a corporate planner for a Fortune 500 company and a senior vice president for a bank. The second suspect was considered a computer genius and had an outstanding warrant for wire fraud.
Following their arrest, investigation revealed that they had been involved in financial crimes for over 10 years and had defrauded two auction houses in New York City of over $300,000 using counterfeit cashier's checks.
How can an ATM user protect himself from this sort of theft? ● Always shield your PIN from prying eyes. Use your body to block anyone's view of the keypad, or cup your non-keying hand over the pad as you use it. Do this whether you're at an ATM, a gas pump, or inside a store. (Rigging the machine to trap your card is not the only way a thief can steal your plastic. And keep in mind that scammers need your PIN to make your card work, so guard your PIN carefully.) ● Don't use an ATM if people insist upon standing around it. Politely ask them to move aside, and if they refuse, go somewhere else. ● Don't use any ATM that appears to be out of the ordinary. Turn up your nose at cashpoints sporting signs affixed to the machines or instruction screens asking you to do things that don't seem right (such as entering your PIN multiple times). Report these discrepancies immediately to the bank in question or the police. ● Get into the habit of using the same ATM for almost all of your transactions so as to better recognize when something is different with the machine. Be wary of any changes you see on its outside. If the ATM is affixed to a bank, walk in and ask why the changes were made. ● Never take advice from "helpful" strangers about how to get your card back if an ATM keeps it. Report a machine-trapped card to your bank as soon as possible so that the card can be deactivated if it is was not kept for legitimate reasons. Prudent cash card users should commit to memory the four points noted above, but their caution shouldn't end there. Be wary of distractions at ATM or debit card readers wherever they may be located, because a shoulder surfer working with an accomplice can, after memorizing your PIN, grab your card and make off with it while his partner points out a $20 bill that's apparently fallen from your hand, or yells something ("Help! Police!") that gets you to take your eyes off what you're doing. Also, if you ever do lose your card and someone from the police or bank afterwards calls to advise you they've recovered it, do not give out your PIN even if he asks for it "for confirmation purposes." Those who blurt out the number in a state of temporary relief soon find out they've just armed the thief with all that he needed. |
