Bob:
Once I came to a friend in Moscow, looked into a store near his house - and there was only cash payment. I ran to the ATM, in a hurry. I found such an unremarkable ATM in the same store, two guys - "technicians" in uniform, with equipment were still spinning nearby, setting up something.
I inserted the card, entered the pin code, the ATM issued an error. I also thought then that they did not set it up well. I had to go to the bank. Just went in, as an SMS comes in that $ 1000 were debited from the account. I - call the bank, they immediately blocked the card. We saved some of the money.
After that I called the police, went and wrote a statement. They immediately warned that the case was most likely hopeless. The ATM was quickly removed, but before that, on the same day, a colleague was caught - the store was close to the office. The colleague was no longer lucky: he did not manage to block the card in time, and all his money was "taken away" from him. It turns out that we were caught immediately after the installation of the ATM by scammers.
Somewhere I read that scammers are running such a scam in large cities, where there are many tourists, nonresident and foreigners who are not particularly versed, whether there is a real ATM in front of them or not. Previously, I had no idea about this, now I only use proven ATMs.
Financial Culture Expert:
Fake ATMs are rare, but there is still a chance to see one. For the scam, written-off devices with special software installed on them are used - it allows you to remove a copy of the card and save the entered PIN code.
If your data is stolen and money is withdrawn from your account, the credit institution will not return the losses. In such a situation, it is more effective to complain about the owner of the building.
If you have dialed the code, an error message appears on the screen or the ATM does not return the card, immediately call the bank hotline.
How to avoid getting caught at a fake ATM?
Once I came to a friend in Moscow, looked into a store near his house - and there was only cash payment. I ran to the ATM, in a hurry. I found such an unremarkable ATM in the same store, two guys - "technicians" in uniform, with equipment were still spinning nearby, setting up something.
I inserted the card, entered the pin code, the ATM issued an error. I also thought then that they did not set it up well. I had to go to the bank. Just went in, as an SMS comes in that $ 1000 were debited from the account. I - call the bank, they immediately blocked the card. We saved some of the money.
After that I called the police, went and wrote a statement. They immediately warned that the case was most likely hopeless. The ATM was quickly removed, but before that, on the same day, a colleague was caught - the store was close to the office. The colleague was no longer lucky: he did not manage to block the card in time, and all his money was "taken away" from him. It turns out that we were caught immediately after the installation of the ATM by scammers.
Somewhere I read that scammers are running such a scam in large cities, where there are many tourists, nonresident and foreigners who are not particularly versed, whether there is a real ATM in front of them or not. Previously, I had no idea about this, now I only use proven ATMs.
Financial Culture Expert:
Fake ATMs are rare, but there is still a chance to see one. For the scam, written-off devices with special software installed on them are used - it allows you to remove a copy of the card and save the entered PIN code.
If your data is stolen and money is withdrawn from your account, the credit institution will not return the losses. In such a situation, it is more effective to complain about the owner of the building.
If you have dialed the code, an error message appears on the screen or the ATM does not return the card, immediately call the bank hotline.
How to avoid getting caught at a fake ATM?
- Give preference to ATMs in bank branches - it is almost impossible to install a fake ATM there.
- Do not use ATM machines that look suspicious - for example, if the model looks old to you: buttons in poor condition, peeling paint, unfamiliar menu design.
- Keep a copy of the receipt that the ATM will give you: it can become proof that the money went to the scammers.
