WARNING -SHEFFIELD Possible New type of ATM Fraud.

James

[SIZE=+0]A person stands behind the person making the withdrawl or at an alternative machine if two are situated together and waits for them to put their card into the machine and enter their pin number.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=+0]Once they have seen the pin number, they are somehow turning the screen off on the cash point. Police have no idea how they are doing this and the banks are also baffled. The machine then appears to the customer has having crashed.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=+0]The customer is then entering the bank to report that the machine has crashed and taken their card. As soon as this happens, one of the males is turning the machine screen back on and taking the card. They are then going to the nearest bank and carrying out the maximum withdrawal available.[/SIZE]

The above was reported in the Students Room as taking place in SHEFFIELD City Centre.

Can anyone shed any light on this?

rb10

I don't believe this to be true ... can you really disable an ATM remotely?

ShelfStacker_3

Quite unlikely, if even possible.

Mikeyorks

The people in Sheffield don't appear to be attaching much credence either ?

http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=475924

..... one of several threads on the City forum.

carolt2

Although this story has been published in Sheffield's local paper

http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/Cashpoint-scam-alert.5229531.jp

opinions4u

carolt2 wrote: »

Although this story has been published in Sheffield's local paper

http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/Cashpoint-scam-alert.5229531.jp

If it's in the local rag, it must be true!

:rotfl:

(Freddie Starr never did eat that hamster!)

Browntoa

sounds like another modern myth

no mention on the sheffield council web site where it "claims" to have originated

http://sccplugins.sheffield.gov.uk/press/news/index.asp

hippey

Sounds viable to me, but also could be an urban myth but advice seems reasonable for a change.

It would be possible to apply a machine overlay which are already used anyway, and then if you used that plastic (which I cannot remember the name of) which if you apply a electrical charge to it, it will turn from transparent to black (similar to LCDs) this could be done remotely but it would take some doing! And not be particularly cheap. I would think this would give the impression of the screen 'going blank' the restof the story is a known way of obtaining you PIN anyway.

Unfortunatly I have never heard of this type of machine being used, but doesn't mean it isn't, and I'm on vacation at the moment so not in a position to make enquiries.

withnell

Doesn't stop the cancel button working though, which spits out your card - who would leave a machine without at least mashing the keypad to see if it returned the card?

Obvious urban myth

Extant

I heard fraudsters were using a new type of ATM scam where they threaten to kill kittens if you don't reveal your PIN.

oldagetraveller

James wrote: »

[SIZE=+0] one of the males is turning the machine screen back on and taking the card. [/SIZE]

So it's only males who are involved in this alleged "scam"? Are females ever guilty of this sort of thing?