ATM fraud – how the criminals steal your hard-earned money

Shoulder surfing. Card-card. Card trapping. There are several new terms to describe it but to those who have been conned out of their hard-earned cash, it is simply ATM fraud.
This kind of fraud has cheated hundreds of victims in the Dundee district out of hundreds of thousands of Rands. And not everyone is compensated by their bank.
But how do these smooth criminals manage to con people from all backgrounds: the poor, rich, those who cannot read or write and even professionals such as attorneys?
A criminal interviewed by CheckPoint (ETV) revealed their modus operandi and their tactics have been confirmed by the local police.
The targets are ATM users who seem distracted. They are then offered assistance.

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The card-stealing criminals do not differentiate on race, age, or gender. “As long as we can take your card and steal your PIN, you are a target,” one criminal told the Checkpoint programme.
Because of the amount of money he makes – up to R15 000 per day – he does not feel much guilt about his actions.
Stealing a target’s bank card and PIN
The criminal said they work in groups of two or three.
Their daily routine includes planning their crime and executing the plan the next day. They steal cards and money in morning and afternoon shifts.
Their modus operandi:
The criminal goes to the ATM and inserts his card as if he is drawing money.
He then uses the ATM mirrors to look for potential victims behind him.
After he spots a potential victim, the criminal pretends to be drawing cash and takes his card. However, he leaves the slip in the ATM.
Before he leaves the ATM, he activates the cardless services option on the ATM, which locks up the card reader.
This prevents the victim from inserting their card.
The cashless services option asks the person for a PIN when they arrive at the ATM, which the victim enters.
The criminal watches, and remembers the PIN of the victim.
When the victim tries to insert their card into the ATM, the criminal claims his slip.
When the victim tries to insert their card, it is blocked because the ATM is in cardless mode.
The criminal now “helps” the victim, telling them they must press C. They typically ask “what is C”, and he tells them “Cancel”.
After the cardless mode is cancelled, the ATM goes back to normal.
When the ATM goes “back to normal”, the criminal tells the victim to lift their card up when trying to insert it. This is a distraction.
The criminal then helps with the lifting of the card when inserting it into the card slot.
The criminal then steals the card from the victim, while their eyes are on the screen.
After stealing the card, the criminal covers it with their wallet. (SA Banking Institute)

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