Consumerist
atm sssskimmerssss
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annoyances
Are Postcard-Sized Rebate Checks A Conspiracy?
So you've fought the mighty rebaterus and won, prying your hard-won mail-in rebate money from its claws. If your rebate isn't in the form of a prepaid debit card, it's probably a postcard-sized check—cheap to mail, simple, easy. For the rebate fulfillment company. For the consumer depositing checks via ATM as banks cut back on their hours, it's not so simple or easy. More » -
one born every minute
ATM Ponzi Scheme Was $80 Million Cash Machine For Fraudsters
Every Ponzi scheme has to have a gimmick; something to convince marks that they're investing in a legitimate enterprise, even when they're being bilked of every last cent. For Bernie Madoff, it was an investment fund that offered ridiculously steady returns. For Vance Moore II and Walter Netschi it was ATMs, an incredibly prosaic setup that managed to siphon $80 million from investors who believed they were putting their money into cash machines. The only cash machine, of course, was the fund itself, which Moore and Netschi allegedly operated from 2005 to 2008. More » -
crime
Video: Guy Installing Skimmer On ATM
LiveLeak has posted surveillance video footage from earlier this month of a guy in Brazil installing a skimming device onto a bank ATM. The second half of the tape shows him being arrested and officials revealing the device, which just reminds us that the next time we use an ATM, we're first going to take off a shoe and hit everything on it like it's covered in giant ants. See the video below. More » -
banks
Credit Union Celebrates Labor Day By Limiting ATM Transactions To $40
How are you spending the long weekend? If you're one of 2,000 Arizona Federal Credit Union customers affected in a Visa security breach, we hope you weren't planning a trip out of state. More » -
credit cards
Skimmers Rig Door Instead Of ATM
Last week, a customer in Long Beach, New York, discovered a skimmer attached to the outside of a local ATM branch instead of on specific machines. We've talked a lot about being wary of any suspicious add-ons at the ATM, but in this case the criminals were collecting card info as people swiped to enter the building—although they still had pinhole cameras set up to record PINs next to each keypad. More »
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atm skimmers
ATM Skimmer Ring Hits Chicago Suburbs
Reader Kellie reports being the victim of an ATM skimming scam in the Chicago area. Mostly, she was amazed that the thefts weren't reported in the local media, and she asked bank employees why. Here's what they told her. More » -
stranded
BoA Strands Customer In Siberia With No Money
Bank of America has cut off Shannon's debit card and says she has to get a new one. This would otherwise be a minor inconvenience except for the fact that Shannon is in Irkutsk, Russia on a 2-week Trans-Siberian trek.
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Suprises
Mouse Builds Expensive Nest Inside ATM
A mouse snuck into an ATM at a gas station in eastern Oregon and made what had to have been an adorable little home out of sixteen $20 bills. Nobody knows how Scrooge McMouse got into the ATM, but after giving the station attendant a good scare, he was fished out of his money pit and set free. More » -
crime
Hackers Discover Data-Stealing ATM At Convention
Nobody knows yet whether it was planted by an attendee, or if the ATM had been there for some period of time before the event, but hackers at last week's DefCon conference in Las Vegas discovered a rogue unit that was designed to capture customers' credit card data with each use. More » -
skimmers
Two Men Charged With Placing Skimmer On Maryland ATM
Two men "of no fixed address" were charged in Maryland earlier this month with tampering with an ATM and skimming funds. The men, currently in custody in Oklahoma for similar crimes, allegedly added a skimmer and camera to an ATM at a Maryland PNC bank in April, but police weren't notified of the tampering until May 20th. More » -
nice work if you can get it
Banks To "Earn" $38.5 Billion From Overdrafts This Year
Consumers aren't the only ones looking to save money and gain a little extra cash on the side. Banks are people too, you know! In the face of toxic assets and credit card delinquencies, they've come up with a plan to increase their revenue: New fees! Higher fees! Higher minimum balance requirements! Trickier overdrafts! More » -
follow ups
REI Says ATM Photographer Is Welcome In Their Store Any Time
REI's Director of Corporate Communications contacted us with an official statement about the recent showdown between two Loomis security guards and a customer with an iPhone at one of their Seattle stores. She says despite the document Shane says he was forced to sign at the police station, he is not banned from their stores. Below is REI's official statement. More » -
crime
New York ATM Skimmer Crooks Stole $1.8 Million
Four Romanian nationals in Florida have been charged in a series of ATM skimmer frauds that targeted banks in New York City, Cicero (near Syracuse), NY, and Rochester, NY. They are charged with, among other things, aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to commit credit card fraud. According to the Syracuse office of the Secret Service, they stole $1.8 million overall. More » -
your rights
Loomis Rent-A-Cops Have Shopper Cuffed, Hauled Away Over ATM Photo
While Shane was standing in the customer service line at a Seattle REI, he watched two Loomis employees open and change out the cash in an ATM machine. Shane took a photo of them with his iPhone. This apparently freaked out the Loomis guards, the REI security staff, and then the Seattle police, who put handcuffs on Shane, drove him to the police station, and then made him sign a statement that he wouldn't return to a REI store for a year. You might have noticed in that summary that they didn't actually bring any charges against him, which should make it clear to anyone who wants to side with the faux Po-Po that what Shane did wasn't illegal, that the rent-a-cops should be fired, and that REI and Loomis owe Shane a big apology. More » -
how to
ID An ATM Skimmer
Here's a 24-page PDF of a powerpoint on ATM skimmers that's making the rounds in Australia. If you've been reading every ATM skimming post, most of this is review, but it contains several more examples of what skimmers can look like and what to watch out for. Though it's from an Australian bank, most of the information is general enough to apply to any ATM. A handy document to pass around to friends and family to warn them about ATM skimming dangers.
ATM Card Skimming and PIN capturing Awareness Guide [Commonwealth Bank] (PDF) (Thanks to Laura!)
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fraud
Video: How An ATM Skimmer Scam Works
How do ATM skimmers work? This clip from UK show "The Real Hustle" shows you, from start to finish, how scammers steal your card info and take out money themselves. (Thanks to bonanzaone!) -
skimmers
Here's What A Card Skimmer Looks Like On An ATM
A lot of you have been asking to see what a skimmer looks like before it's yanked off an ATM. Are they easy to spot or virtually unnoticeable? Our reader Timeus works for a bank and deals with this sort of thing every day, and he sent in the following photos. Enjoy. More »
