Count your money later where others can’t see and avoid showing your cash. Put your cash, card and receipt away immediately.Type in your pin discreetly and shield the screen and keypad so others can’t see.If it looks like someone has tampered with the ATM equipment in any way, don’t use it and report it.You can come back later or find another ATM. If you notice anything out of the ordinary or suspicious cancel your transaction and leave immediately. Use ATM’s in public, well-lit areas, like inside banks or supermarkets. When you’re alone, avoid using ATMs in deserted areas, or ones that are obstructed from view or poorly lit.Here are some of the best practices financial institutions do suggest people exercise when using an ATM: Hidden camera: To record customer keystrokes, like the entry of a PIN, or the card’s information. Unlimited cash-out: Malware manipulates system controls, inflates account balances and removes daily transactions limits, enabling criminals to withdraw an unlimited amount of cash.įake keypads or "pin-pad overlays": These could potentially be used to steal a PIN number. The criminal then retrieves the cash once the customer leaves.Ĭard trapping: The stealing of the physical card itself through a device fixed to the ATM. Once the information is captured, criminals use the details to create a cloned card.Ĭash trapping: A contraption inserted into the cash-dispensing slot that blocks an ATM’s shutter so that bills cannot be presented to the customer. Skimming: A slim device containing a microprocessor and flash memory that is attached to a card reader slot that copies card information as it passes the device. Here are some of the most common ones compiled from the American Bankers Association and NCR, an ATM developer. Typically, crooks will use a variety of techniques to capture customers information.
He went on to recommend that people take actual safety precautions, such as not using random ATMs or ones where they don’t trust the physical security, because those are targeted by scammers most often. Roussev explained that many designs, particularly keypad overlays, which attaches a fake keyboard over an ATMs real one, may record everything that is pressed, so pressing cancel twice or 50 times would make zero difference. It won’t hurt you, but I would place zero value on this type of advice."ĭr. Roussev said, "but it should not, in any way, be taken as a safety precaution.
"There are relatively simple electronic devices made by different criminal groups that get reproduced and sold, and there’s a fairly large number of them, so it is possible that some very simple ones could be disturbed by something like this," Dr. Vassil Roussev, a professor of computer science at the University of New Orleans and the director of the UNO Cyber Center, an institution dedicated to research and instruction in the area of Information Assurance. While it is true that scams can impact customers using an ATM machine, we couldn’t find any reports from cybersecurity, banking or law enforcement organizations that recommend pressing the cancel button twice to prevent information from being stolen. The tip has been shared on social media since at least November 2018, when the same claim was also posted on Twitter. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) It was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. Please share with those about whom you care." Please make it a habit and part of every transaction that you make. If anyone has set up the keypad to steal your pin code, this will cancel that set up. The post reads: "Press (the) ‘cancel’ button twice before inserting the card. Recently, a post claiming to be a "message from a banker" professes to share with the world a "useful tip" while using an ATM. If you need information on ATM security and safety, it’s best to go to law enforcement or a financial institution – not an unsourced post that your friend shared on social media.