ATM fraud takes place daily. Scams are successful because most people are honest and trusting. Criminals play on this trust to create a situation where they can get hold of your PIN and your card.
Remember that a criminal must have both your PIN and your card to be able to draw money from your account.
Some of the scams that criminals use include:
- Card swopping. Criminals distract you so that they can swop cards with you. They are so slick that most people are unaware that their cards have been swopped.
- Card theft. Criminals insert small objects, such as match sticks or paper, into the card reader. This enables them to trap your card in the card reader, leading you to believe your card has been retained by the machine. In an attempt to retrieve your card, you may repeatedly key in your PIN while the criminal observes you from a distance. The criminal may also offer you the use of his or her cellular phone to cancel your card. The criminal then dials an accomplice who claims to be a bank official and pretends to cancel your card on the telephone and asks you for your PIN. The criminal advises you to key in your PIN at the ATM and press the cancel button to retrieve your card, taking note of your PIN. Once you have left the ATM, the criminal removes your card with a sharp object. In possession of your card and PIN, he or she then has access to your money.
- Fraudsters posing as bank employees ask you if you want to enter a competition with lucrative winnings saying they need your PIN to enter you in the competition.
To protect yourself, take note of the following tips:
- Treat your ATM card as you would cash and do not leave it lying around.
- If your card is lost or stolen, report this to your bank as soon as possible.
- Consider taking out lost card insurance which covers you against theft or loss of money from your account from the time your card is lost until the time you report your card lost or stolen. Once reported, the fraud becomes the bank's problem and the bank will make good your losses.
- Keep your PIN secret. Never keep a record of it on your card or on any piece of paper in your wallet, purse, handbag or on your cellphone. Rather memorise your PIN.
- If you suspect your PIN is known to somebody else, cancel your card or change your PIN.
- Keep your bank's 24-hour toll-free lost card number with you, so you can report that your card is missing or has been stolen as soon as possible to prevent fraudulent transactions.
- If you feel unsafe at an ATM or there are suspicious individuals loitering around, leave the area immediately. Return at another time or use another ATM.
- Follow the instructions on the ATM screen - only type in your PIN when prompted to do so.
- Stand close to the ATM and block the keypad with your hand, so that nobody behind you can read your PIN when you type it in.
- Always check to see that you received your own card back when you have finished transacting at an ATM. It is a good idea to mark your card so that you can recognise it instantly, for example with bright nail polish in one corner.
- Never accept help from anybody at an ATM, not even if the person claims they are a bank official.
- Never divulge your PIN to anybody, not even a bank official as they never need to know your PIN to assist you.
- Do not count your cash in front of the ATM where everybody can watch you.
- Avoid using ATMs in secluded areas after dark.
- Do not allow yourself to be distracted while using an ATM, by for example, somebody saying you have dropped your money.
- Be alert at all times.