My mum called me yesterday to say loads of people had been caught out in Barnsley recently in a credit card scam. Apparently what happened was some people stuck a device on a cash machine that looked like the top of the machine. It photographs you typing in your pin and also your card numbers. They then nicked the cards and took £800 in one day. The police advised everyone to cover it up with their hands while they type their pin in. Dont know if this is true or just my mum being a paranoid old so and so! anyone know?
heather

Nope, it can happen.

A few weeks ago one of the ATMs at the Yorkshire Bank on Commercial Street / Haymarket was compromised like this.

The gadget records the details off your card as it goes in to the slot, and then also takes video of your entering the number. Then after a while the bad lads recover the kit and clone the cards.

Just keep an eye on the ATMs and also shade your hand if you're concerned; the ATMs inside branches are safer, but it's still pretty rare.

General advice is that if you DO suspect a machine, go inside the branch and speak to the staff rather than try and take the kit off the ATM yourself. The 'owners' of the equipment often lurk nearby and will take exception.

Joe

Yes it is true, there was a report about the exact same thing in the star last week. Apparently some guy noticed the false front and peeled it back to reveal the real machine.
Although I cant remember where it was they said it happend, it was in the south yorks region.

I only had a problem with the cashpoint (HSBC) in Bexleyheath, the display is always scratched, by prattologists coming out of the bowling centre. Midland and the bowling place are opposite.
The ATM had something sticky on there.

Alex

The best way to tell is to see what the slot looks like. If it looks like a protruding 'slit' then be suspicious. Almost all modern machines have a gentle curve in the metal facia that leads to the card slot. If the surround of the card slot is not made of the same piece of material as the rest of the facia, don't use it!

Since I saw this on the news a few weeks ago I ALWAYS cover my fingers with my other hand incase there is a camera watching. People look at me like I've gone mad but if it saves me a few hundred quid I can live with that :rolleyes:

World has gone crazy but they would never get any money out of mine because I never have any :(

Cashpoint that charge you to get at your own money take the mick i think...

I went down to london a few weeks ago, i was in soho at a club, and it said £10 per withdrawal... that takes the biscuit..

''The Miranda Club in Soho... avoid unless rich''

I had a problem in the summer at a yorkshire bank machine at Moorfoot. I put my card in and typed my pin. But the machine powered off and slowly rebooted itself with my card still in there. When it came ready, I had no money and no card. Fortunately this was my branch and I rung them on monday morning and they posted the card back in the post. Which I didn't think was a very secure method. I would have expected recorded delivery at least.

It just goes to show if you rely on a single card to run your life like most people do, then if it is compromised or stolen, then you need a backup. As you have to wait a few days for a new card. I know people who have been in difficulties, as it takes some time to organise a replacement card, and then a new pin, which they insist on providing. I would recommend that people have at least 2 current accounts with card if they can. I have this and if I get a card problem, I can transfer money between accounts and get out my other card.

Sad I know, but worth doing.

In Dundee I had the cash machine retain my card (never found out why). My companion went into the bank to tell them, while I stayed at the machine just in case the card popped back out. Lucky I did, because about 3 or 4 minutes later the card slowly came out from the machine. If I'd gone into the bank myself the card would have come out without me there and been 'swiped' in the not too clever meaning.

Originally posted by muddycoffee
.... they posted the card back in the post. Which I didn't think was a very secure method. I would have expected recorded delivery at least.


It's secure enough - nobody can do anything with it since they don't know your PIN. And, you were expecting it so would have reported it missing within a couple of days.

Originally posted by Andy
It's secure enough - nobody can do anything with it since they don't know your PIN.

I'm sorry I disagree. You can go into tesco and get shopping and £50 cashback. And all you have to do is a rough copy of the signature on the card. It's obvious when you go to a shop wether they have chip and pin enabled, because they have the pad on the counter. Most cashiers never even glance at your signature as they are too busy.

Originally posted by muddycoffee
I'm sorry I disagree. You can go into tesco and get shopping and £50 cashback. And all you have to do is a rough copy of the signature on the card. It's obvious when you go to a shop wether they have chip and pin enabled, because they have the pad on the counter. Most cashiers never even glance at your signature as they are too busy.

As of next year liability for these transactions will rest with the shop.

There's a bit more to it that that though. Firstly, if sending cards out by post was causing lots of fraud, then banks wouldn't do it. The fact is, in three years of banking, I've never known one case of a card being stolen from the post. (Yes, things have gone missing, but never been used fraudulantly).

Secondly, there are measures in place to identify "high risk" areas and cards to these areas are sent by a different method.

Originally posted by scatterheart
Since I saw this on the news a few weeks ago I ALWAYS cover my fingers with my other hand incase there is a camera watching. People look at me like I've gone mad but if it saves me a few hundred quid I can live with that :rolleyes:

pfft! Let the other people eat cake! I always cover my fingers as I enter my PIN number every time, regardless of whether other people are there or not; it's a sensible idea.

Originally posted by nuf_said
In Dundee I had the cash machine retain my card (never found out why). My companion went into the bank to tell them, while I stayed at the machine just in case the card popped back out. Lucky I did, because about 3 or 4 minutes later the card slowly came out from the machine. If I'd gone into the bank myself the card would have come out without me there and been 'swiped' in the not too clever meaning.

A cash machine swallowed my card once; I think my card had been in my back pocket too long, and had bent in the middle, hence the ATM could not spit it back out through the very narrow slot. It was at the weekend, and not my usual bank, let alone branch, so there wasn't much I could do. I called my own bank who told me not to approach the bank where my ATM card was kept; instead they cancelled that card and sent me another.