Warning - Victim of ATM Fraud!!!!

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rubio_higuey

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Feb 7, 2007
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I became victim of ATM fraud yesterday, at Banco Leon in Higuey.

I came to withdraw money, entered the card. The card took a long time to get in!!! The ATM did "nothing" and after a moment it said "out of service". There I noted a sticker saying that if your card is retained, press some keys (which included your PIN number) and if the card is not returned call the XYZ number to report the card.

Dumb a$$ me (like if I hadn't done thousands of ATM transactions previously, and reading all the stuff here about fraud and having my debit cards canceled by Banco Leon on two occasions in a batch-cancel because of frauds) I DID enter the f$$$$ PIN and nothing happened.

No card, no money, ATM no signs of life.... I recoursed to the last option, unplugging the ATM from the power (easy to do) and see go it through the boot process to see if my card appears (it did not). However, satisfied that my debit card would not be getting to anyone's hands (safely eaten inside the ATM I would get it back on Monday morning) ... I went home. I stopped by to drop something off at a friend's house.

When I came back home and went to transfer the money from my withdrawal account back to my main account, I could not believe my eyes, about 5 minutes after I walked off from the ATM, there was RD$1.700 withdrawn in another bank's ATM from my debit card (according to authcentre timecode for that transaction).
In about 30 minutes since I dumba$$ly entered the PIN on a keyboard and having my card stuck, somebody took the card???, PIN and withdraw whatever was left on my withdrawal account.

I still do not know whether they got a hold physically of my card - I cannot imagine how if the card got stuck inside and I rebooted the ATM, or if they cloned my card. The PIN, they got it...obviously..,. from... you've just read from where.

After about another 30 minutes on the phone with the bank, it was clear as the water - I was a victim of ATM fraud.

There have been many cases reported to my bank (Banco Leon) about the same modus operandi!!!

I went back with my camcorder trying to see if I can film something in action. The sticker was no longer there. The ATM was still "out of order".

I have never ever had a problem with ATM card, and I am quite cautious with ATm withdrawals. I was caught off-guard like a li'l kid stealing the sweets form grandma's pantry room.

BE WARNED YOU ALL. If ANYTHING out of the ordinary (even perfectly normal, but a bit weird thing) happens while doing ATM transactions, CALL the bank immediately BEFORE you leave ATM. Have your card number (or at least last 8 digits, the first 8 digits are usually the same for all cards) and bank number ready, and REPORT it before you leave the ATM. That way even if your data is compromised, the thiefes will not get a hold of it before you report your card!

Tomorrow, I will go to my bank branch and see two things a) whether the card is still in the ATM - if so, they cloned my card and I might still be able to recover the money (not so if they got a hold of plastic and used the right PIN); and b) to see if the camera has a shot of a person who took the device form the ATM - somehow somebody had to "do" something after I left to recover the data stored in the hotspot.

Of course, guachiman usually in the bank, near the ATM area, but not yesterday... a case for liability of guachiman company, maybe? (I know good luck suing them...)
 
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Lambada

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Thank you, rubio_higuey for the detailed report. I guess if it can happen to a switched on person like you, it can happen to anyone.

P.S. I thought the 'last option' was unplugging from power, extracting machine & taking it into your possession until Monday morning....? ;)
 
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La Mariposa

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And how many times people were laughing at me because I never withdrew money from an ATM machine in the D.R.
 
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Chip

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Jul 25, 2007
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Rubio

Sorry to here about the problem. I had my card cloned somewhere here in the Dr and had US900 stolen in the States, all of which was refunded. I know cash personal checks and use my credit card on a very limited basis, like the local supermakets,etc. where it is never out of my sight.
 
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davidleemac58

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cloning credit cards

Interesting information...About 6 months ago, I rented a car at one of the airport locations at las americas and somebody stole my credit card number.. They then charged gas and things from walmart ,costco and other locations in South Florida..All monies returned but a big hassel... Be carefull
 
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Criss Colon

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BANRESERVAS Catches FRAUD With My Credit Card!!! GOOD WORK!

I have a Banreserva credit card. A few moths ago they called and asked me if I JUST charged $100 us IN THE usa. I said "NO!" They immediately cancelled the card,and two days later delivered a new card to my house. They returned the $100 to my account. The charge was for gasoline at a station outside CHICAGO iLLINOIS.
cccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc
 
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rubio_higuey

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Feb 7, 2007
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yeah the thing is if you have a card with address in Higuey, and they clone it, and withdraw in Higuey as well, (practically instant, 10 mins after the card is cloned) there is no much of a trigger for fraud warning.
 
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suarezn

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Feb 3, 2002
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I don't use Banreservas because I know of many people having their money stolen with these same kind of scams (including my sister). It looks like they've gotten somewhat better at detecting fraud, but in my sister's case I'm pretty sure it is an inside job. She had the same exact thing happen to her where her card got "stuck" asked her to put in the pin, etc...This was in Cotui on a Sunday afternoon and about 10 minutes later someone withdrew all the money she had in this account from two ATM's in Santo Domingo (about 20k pesos). She found this out on Monday and the bank basically just gave her the runaround until she got tired of trying to get the money back and never got a penny back...thus the reason I don't use them.

I stick with Popular (but of course they also are victims of fraud) and I try to never withdraw money when the bank is closed if I can avoid it. Typically this is when these scams are carried out.
 
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rubio_higuey

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Feb 7, 2007
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suarezn said:
I try to never withdraw money when the bank is closed if I can avoid it. Typically this is when these scams are carried out.
Click to expand...

Right. This was 5.30 pm on Saturday. And no guachiman either as they told me yesterday, now they don't pay guachimans after the bank closes (cost saving issue).
 
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suarezn

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What I still don't get in my mind is how they can take your money out 5 to 10 minutes later from an ATM a couple of hours away. Do you think they just have a counterpart just waiting for the call from the person who got your pin or is it an inside job (i.e. the bank itself or someone within the bank is in cahoots)?

Gringo: Was there anybody standing around the ATM when this happened?
 
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FernieBee

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Snopes.com
 
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FernieBee

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Feb 20, 2008
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15clt39.jpg

Tampa police show a skimming device ? the false card slot goes over the original; underneath is a card reader that captures information. A camera is typically hidden on the ATM, often in a pamphlet holder, angled to view the monitor and keypad.

Card scanner discovered at Tampa ATM
 
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FernieBee

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Feb 20, 2008
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ATM Cash-point Scams using "Lebanese Loop" Plastic Sleeves / Skimming Devices Street Scam Frauds

A scam involving ATM machines
in which thieves insert clear plastic sleeves into the machine’s card slot.

When an unsuspecting customer inserts his or her card and enters their PIN, a message instructing the user to reenter the PIN is displayed because the machine cannot read the card’s magnetic strip.

After several unsuccessful attempts to reenter the PIN, the user finds that he or she cannot remove their card and, in many cases, leaves the machine mistakenly believing that the machine has malfunctioned and retained their card.

In reality, the thief, posing as another customer feigning aggravation over the malfunctioning machine, was able to memorize the user’s PIN following the unsuccessful entries, before leaving the area. After you leave, the thief (or an accomplice) returns to the machine, removes the plastic sleeve containing the user’s card, reinserts the card without the sleeve, enters the user’s password and empties their account.

Should you or anyone you know encounter such a scenario, carefully examine the card slot and run your fingers across it to find one or more of the almost imperceptible “prongs”attached to the plastic sleeve that are designed to permit the thief to remove it.

Should you be unable to retrieve your card for any reason, do not assume that the machine “ate it". If you have a cell phone, remain at the machine and call the telephone assistance number listed on it.

If you are later met by an “ATM repairman”or someone identifying himself as “a police investigator”who retrieves the card from the slot, do not turn that card over to them for any reason, most notably for “evidentiary purposes". Con artists often pose as repairmen, police investigators and even FBI agents; legitimate law enforcement officers will never ask you to turn over your ATM card, credit card, or cash.

In one case a bogus female bank employee stood next to an ATM machine promoting a special bank competition in which cardholders were entered into a special draw simply by writing their names on the back of transaction receipts and placing them into a box. Little did they realize that their pass codes where being observed and recorded.

link
 
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FernieBee

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Feb 20, 2008
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Lebanese loop

The term ?Lebanese loop? is applied to any number of similar devices that are used to perpetrate ATM fraud by retaining the user's card. In their simplest form, Lebanese loops consist of a strip or sleeve of metal or plastic (even something as simple as a strip of video cassette tape) that is inserted into the ATM's card slot. When the victim inserts their ATM card, the loop prevents the card being drawn into the machine, fooling the user into believing the machine has malfunctioned or retained their card.

In a typical scam, the perpetrator will obtain the victim's PIN either by watching them enter it the first time (shoulder surfing), or by approaching the victim under the pretence of offering help and suggesting they re-enter their PIN (and again, watching them do so). Once the victim has left the ATM, the perpetrator retrieves the loop and the trapped card, and uses it, along with their PIN, to withdraw cash from the victim's account

More sophisticated variants of the Lebanese loop scam have developed. In some cases, the fraudsters attach a small camera to the ATM to record the victim entering their PIN. The video from this camera is then transmitted to the fraudsters, who may be waiting near the machine and viewing the video on a laptop computer, meaning they need not approach the victim directly. There have been cases where a fake keypad is fitted to the machine over the top of the real one, and this records the PINs entered.

link
 
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