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to my main account, I could not believe my eyes, about 5 minutes after I walked off from the ATM, there was RD$1.700 withdrawn in another bank's ATM from my debit card (according to authcentre timecode for that transaction).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...)
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...)