Automatic Teller Machines, shortly known as ATMs, are being used by hackers to lock down cards on the teller machines so that the hackers can gain control of the cards on digital form and siphon money from bank accounts.
Police from the Hertfordshire area have confirmed the crime and admitted that they have received at least 4 complaints in the past 10-15 days.
The way the hackers are operating is as follows- as soon as the debit card user puts his/her card in the allotted slot of the teller machine, the card gets locked up in the slot and the machine displays a message saying ‘Service Unavailable’.
And the longer time the customer takes calling his/her bank to block the card or to explain about the situation, the time-frame is used by the cyber crooks to withdraw funds from their accounts, respectively.
Currently, incidents have been reported in Hertfordshire area and surroundings that are within the 5 miles radius. Although many of the banks have withdrawn ATM services from suburbs, some banks are still continuing to provide services, depending on the customer count in that area and other several reasons to undertake.
How to dodge such ATM troubles
The only way to avoid trouble if the card gets blocked in the teller machine is to call the bank customer care and ask to block the card or freeze it.
Always use a smart phone app to avail such services as it helps cuts down delay. Though some issues might arise due to network connectivity, it still proves as a smart option, especially while in such situations.
Using machines that are located inside the premises of the bank makes sense
It is better if you keep a tab on the card slot and the keyboard of the machine and check for any suspicious placement. But this process doesn’t seem to be practical in all situations, as we will be busy in withdrawing cash and getting inside the car as soon as possible.
Remember, banks also have a digital infrastructure in place to keep a tab of suspicious transactions and will inform customers if found. But not all banks have a practice of keeping a tab of such transactions.
