ATM: beware of this new sneaky scam!
All over the world, ATM-related crimes are only on the rise. It became particularly stressful and scary to withdraw some money. And, it’s quite legitimate, since scams only multiply year after year. Thieves struggle to develop ever more inventive techniques to achieve their ends. Just recently, a new scam is giving the authorities a hard time. It allows any criminal to instantly rob you of your money. Concretely, the latter pretends to be a bank employee, a policeman or even a technician, under the pretext of a distributor failure. He supposedly makes you believe that he is trying to help you and ends up stealing your card with agility. Subsequently, it will use it to empty your account. Nothing stops the scammers who use all means, even the most unsuspected, to try to collect your banking data and liquidity.
A sophisticated type of crime to steal your money
On your side, it is almost often impossible to detect this type of deception. As long as you have your mind occupied, once in front of the machine, if there is a possible bug, you are a thousand places away from thinking about a potential trap. In fact, the thief uses a small bar that blocks the money hatch. Therefore, the moment you carry out the operation and the money does not come out as usual, you immediately think that the machine is out of order or defective. Human reaction: You go to get help or you leave the premises altogether. Big mistake! All you need to do is disappear for a few minutes for the scammer to scoop up your tickets in the blink of an eye. Neither seen nor known!
Beware of this very common diversionary technique!
Another common scam: to steal your money or steal a valuable item, criminals try to distract you and divert your attention for a few seconds. That’s why you should always be on the lookout and check for prying eyes. A scammer can, for example, drop an object on the ground, such as a wallet, while having taken care to memorize your PIN. The moment you put your head down, your card can easily be stolen by the offender and quickly used at another ATM. Just like it can snatch your tickets or steal a valuable. This scam is often used to steal a watch or bracelet.
This ingenious hacking method blocks the ATM
Have you ever heard of the “Lebanese Loop”? This is a popular fraud, highly prized by criminals, which consists of hacking the ATM itself so that the bank card remains stuck inside. At this point, the thief intervenes by suggesting that you retype your PIN code. This is how it will memorize the numbers to steal from you later. As you can imagine, this type of scam usually happens when The bank is closed. Because, quite naturally, the victim would immediately ask an employee for help and the thief’s strategy would be totally futile.
Common target: seniors
The variant of this scam, called “Marseille collar” also consists of trapping victims after the banks close. Just after his removal, the thief stops the person, most often elderly, explaining that she would have forgotten a €20 note in the machine. Trying to gain her trust, he advises her to put her card back in the ATM to retrieve this ticket. But, in truth, this is only a ruse, since the thief has already blocked the slot of the device. Slyly, during the operation, the scammer tries to memorize the precious four-digit sesame (on the spot or even using a pre-installed camera). Then the poor victim realizes that his card is blocked. The thief makes her believe that she was swallowed by the machine. And, as soon as she has her back turned, it will be child’s play: he will get the card back and take out all the money he wants!
You will understand: there is a whole range of scams to get your hands on your credit card and your code. To prevent this type of fraud, you must take precautions: withdraw money during working days, avoid ATMs nestled in dark and isolated streets, refuse the slightest help from a stranger and always hide the keypad when entering your PIN. And beware, scams are everywhere, ATMs are not the only ones targeted. Nowadays, social networks are also the favorite playground of cybercriminals. So always be vigilant to protect your private data. Discretion is the better part of valor!
