How To Avoid Getting Ripped Off At The ATM

That’s good information. I’m always nervous using the ATM, now when I’m at the grocery store I just use my debit card when I pay and get cash back. I just feel safer that way.

Check if there is a dip reader (the kind you slide your card in and out of) on an ATM that takes your card. It should be either/or; an ATM that takes your card should not have a dip reader attached.

Also, set up SMS or E-mail alerts.

Yeah. I have that set up with Bank of America. I should double check exactly what alerts I have for my checking account tonight when I get home.

I don't get it. Without the actual card, what would be the point of having the pin. I'm speaking only of my ATM card, by the way.

A card is just a piece of plastic with a magnetic strip.

Once they have an account number and a pin, they can either physically replicate the magnetic strip, or just submit transactions electronically.

I'm not sure how the heck they do things - but I had money taken out from an ATM in an area of Boston I really don't go near (for obvious reasons). I noticed an amount taken out of my account and called the bank - they checked the address of the ATM withdrawal and I knew I've not been there. And then the next day - there was a withdrawal of the same amount with my husband's ATM card (same account, but different cards). And we both had our cards with us and had not lost them at any point.

The bank couldn't give an explanation other than there are alot of scams out there - and canceled our cards and provided new ones. We were protected for the amounts and the withdrawals reversed.

That's clear enough

I was more worried than the bank - I guess they are used to it. I am very careful about using my card and my finances - why I caught it right away.

I just like to know how it happened so I can avoid it - just knowing it is a scam doesn't help me in avoiding it in the future.

You can't avoid really it, not until banks change their practices. There are card skimmers that can read your information by remotely skimming your cards as you walk by. The reason banks cover the losses is because the system is flawed. The best you can do is follow the steps above, among others and get a tin lined wallet.

When my bank refused to just offer a ATM card but insisted on a debit/ATM card I consider the security risks too high for myself and refused it.

Yes, they promise to make you whole but unlike with a credit card the funds are gone until you get the bank to replaced those funds.

Given that I pay for almost everything using a credit card and then pay the amount on the card in full every month by bank electronic transfer I do not see the benefits of a debit card.

As far as cash I spend almost no cash and going to the bank for a thousand dollars will last me at least 6 months.

Not having a debit card is the best possible defend against a raid on your bank accounts.

Of course I know one gentleman that go beyond that and allow no electronic bank transfers as well just paper checks.

Very important footnote if you have a commercial bank account then in many cases you do not have the protections that is granted for personal accounts concerning false debit charges and false bank electronic transfers.

If you have business accounts I suggest talking to your bank over the matter and getting any promises in writings.

More warning to any of you who have business accounts with banks.


Watch Out for Cyber Crime
Small businesses are increasingly the targets of sophisticated scam artists who take over bank accounts.
October 2010 | By Robert Freedman
All Bethany Moore did was open an e-mail that appeared to be from UPS and click on an attachment about a supposed lost package. Now she’s fighting to save her small escrow company in Southern California from financial ruin.

The cause of her company’s sudden misfortune? A cyber scam in which fraudsters used a phony e-mail message to insert a virus into her computer system. They nabbed her online banking password and helped themselves to more than $400,000 of her company’s money through a series of wire transfers.

The story is a lesson to other small businesses—including real estate companies—which are increasingly targets for this type of cyber crime, often called a "corporate account takeover." The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. says such fraud has resulted in millions of dollars in losses, frayed business relationships, and countless legal battles between banks and businesses.

Smaller companies make particularly attractive targets because they don’t typically have sophisticated technology staff to keep watch on things. And banks have had little incentive to upgrade online banking security because they’re not liable for losses in the case of a breach, as they are with consumer accounts.

Under the 1978 Electronic Funds Transfer Act, banks are responsible for keeping consumer accounts safe from online fraud, says James Woodhill, chairman and founder of Washington, D.C.-based Authentify Inc., which helps weed out fraudulent transactions. But no similar laws are on the books for business accounts. "The thinking is, those who are sophisticated enough to manage a business account are sophisticated enough to manage their own security," says Thomas Tauzin, vice president of Capitol Hill Consulting Group.Fortunately, that thinking is starting to change. In California, a proposed bill would require banks with online banking services to boost security, in part by requiring them to use "out-of-band" verification that uses a channel other than the Web—most typically, the phone—to approve wire transfers.

The federal government is waking up to the problem as well. A proposed bill would extend banks’ liability under the Electronic Funds Transfer Act to include public entities such as schools and municipalities. That would be an important first step for small businesses because it acknowledges that banks share responsibility for fraudulent wire transfers.

Some banks do offer online fraud protection as part of their service package to small businesses. If your bank doesn’t offer that, major insurance carriers offer protection. Travelers, for instance, combines coverage for electronic funds transfer fraud with coverage for computer fraud. Check with your existing provider or contact an insurance broker.Moore (which is not her real name; she asked to remain anonymous) is currently in litigation with her bank to seek some repayment.

"I was floored that the bank wasn’t accountable at all," she says. "Once I alerted them, they cut down all communication with me. I couldn’t access the account. They just said, 'I hope you have insurance.'"

Reduce Your Risks: Expert Tips for Avoiding Online Fraud
Talk to your bank. Especially before opening a new account, ask the bank how it prevents cyber theft and whether it will cover losses for business clients. If yes, ask your banker to sign an agreement to that effect, Tauzin says. "That kind of proactive stance is what will help motivate banks to get serious about cyber theft of their business customers."

Keep tabs on your account. Check your online bank account daily, regardless of whether you performed banking activity. And change your banking passwords on a regular basis.

Think before you click. Attachments loaded with malicious software can steal online banking credentials from your computer. Be cautious about opening any attachment, clicking on links, or downloading files from an e-mail.

Confirm that your security software is active and current. At a minimum, your computer should have antivirus and antispyware software and an active firewall. If you suspect your computer is infected, stop shopping, banking, and other online activities that involve user names, passwords, and other sensitive information.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Learn More

Don't carry a card with RFI technology.

If you do, keep it electronically insulated (i.e., a Faraday cage).

My new credit and debit cards have imbedded chips, as well as the strip.

Ummm? I wonder if we can avoid this if we want to.

You can try asking to be issue a card without the chip and there are articles on the internet on how to disable/destroy the chip such as finding it in the card and drilling a hole into it.

I bank with Chase, I have a Chase app on my iphone and every time my debit card is used I get an alert msg on my phone telling me about the transaction.