Over the years I’ve used these newsletters to talk about direct financial planning or investment or industry related stuff, or philosophise about humanity and life and I suppose to relate personal life experiences that have possible benefits to any of you reading this. Case in point: emergency strategy for remote punctures!!! This week is another of these life experiences, this time nearly being a victim of ATM fraud. defrauded at an ATM.
On Tuesday this week I was innocently using an ATM in Johannesburg when one of those all-too-often warnings about watching your back came true. I was using an ATM on the exterior of a shopping centre, exposed to the car park which was right there. Now I consider myself a person who is very aware of who is around me or in my space. Therefore I had already noticed this well-dressed man standing behind me, at the appropriate distance for someone waiting to use the ATM. Just before I was about to get my card out, he stepped up alongside me and tapped – what looked like his bank card – against the slot that your card goes into, and at the same time talking to me in a way that appeared as if he was pointing at the card slot and trying to help me with something.
A moment later the screen changed, showing a place for my cell phone number to be typed into. (Which I had no intention of doing) He said, “You’ll need to put your number in there.” “Put your number in,” he repeated. And a third time, raising his voice, “Put your number in!” I responded with: “Don’t you shout at me!” And with that he was gone. All over in about 20 seconds. I thought to myself, ‘he is obviously fed up to wait his turn’, not realising I had just been a victim of an attempted scamming. But something else had now happened and my card would not come out of the ATM. I had finished my transaction, but the card was gone. Having my computer with me, I immediately sat down at a coffee shop next door, went online and cancelled the card. A short while later I called my bank’s fraud line and chatted with them.
No money was stolen out of the account, so that’s OK. But I was not happy that I had allowed myself to get caught out. I should have been more aware and caught him out, rather than this way round.
I subsequently learnt that this is how they get the information for your account: simply by tapping another card – that is obviously somehow programmed to do this – over the card slot, which apparently then sends the card / account information to someone sitting nearby with a computer. Whether every event is like this or not, I don’t know.
I might never use such an exposed ATM again, unless there is someone with me to watch my back. It was too easy for him to be there and to get away.
I suppose I am sharing this just to say yes, it happens, and so quickly, and the person looks very presentable, and it even happened to me, who considers himself someone who would usually react very quickly. I should have made him regret being in my space. Next time, if I have someone behind me, I might just cancel and leave. Be careful.