You will oftentimes find yourself trooping to the nearest automated teller machines or ATM to take out cash to pay for a purchase or just have a few dollars in your wallets for emergencies. It has been such a common way of getting money for a lot of consumers that scrupulous individuals have taken notice and devised ways to rob you of your hard earned money. FBI.gov even shared a story how Bulgarians were able to seize 1,400 card information in New York who are now behind bars.
Instead of waiting for you to walk away from the machine and stick you up, some of them have found a way to leverage the advances in technology and rob you at the point when you are taking money out of the machines. They have come up with clever ways to steal your card’s information and even see what your personal identification number or PIN is.
You need to understand the convenience that the ATMs bring to the lives of consumers are so attractive that they choose to transact their business in front of machines because they are always too busy. The machines are everywhere while their bank might not have a branch right where they are located at that moment when they need the money.
And this speed of service oftentimes lead to consumers being a little too careless, thieves use this window and take advantage of the situation for their own benefit and gain. They are able to put skimming devices on to the machines and even manage to sneak in a little camera that can record your fingers keying in your pin.
How to be safe when using the ATMs
Criminals are getting better at what they do and in committing identity theft and you need to be constantly on guard. Here are a few things that you might want to look at when dealing with this specific situations.
- Be wary of using machines in secluded locations. When you need to take out money and your only option is a suspicious looking one inside a dingy store, then better think twice. There are a lot of reasons you need to step back especially when safety is involved. You need to understand that there are criminals who would take their chances with a machine in a less populated area because they can attach the devices without anyone seeing them. It is also harder to call for help in case you find out about the scheme because if they are just lurking around the area, then getting out will be very dangerous.
- Check for unusual attachments in the machine. The skimming device is oftentimes positioned where your card is inserted and for them to record your PIN, they attach small pinhole cameras above the keypad. It might be a good habit to check the ATM before using it. See if there are any unusual attachments in the card slot and look for small cameras positioned to see your hand on top of the keypad. This can help you catch any lurking dangers and the possibility of your money getting depleted.
- Be observant of suspicious behavior. You also need to make to look for people acting strangely near the machine you will be taking money out of especially if this is not your usual spot. If you are on a road trip or you went out with friends one night and you seem to be short on cash, be observant.
- Always have someone with you when taking out money. If it is possible, always have someone you know with you when taking out money. It makes the trip a lot safer from crooks who might want to intercept you after you have taken your money or just someone to show questionable attachments in the machine to.
- Use your hands in covering your PIN number. This is important and can actually help save your account from being cloned and used by other individuals. The skimming device can copy the contents of your card but they would still need your PIN to make the clone card work. That is why they put that camera to get it from you. You need to develop also the habit of covering your hand with your other hand as you key in your PIN. You might also want to rest your whole hand on the whole keypad because some thieves are using thermal applications to detect what you pressed after you have keyed in the numbers.
- Limit the use of ATMs as much as you can. The less you use the ATM to get money, the lesser the chances would be of risking your identity and your card’s information. What you can do is to automate your payments to lessen your need for cash and improve your finances. You can also carry a debit card in case you need to use the money from your account to pay for a purchase. Financial experts would recommend that you carry cash with you all the time to lessen the dependency on credit cards but you need to schedule a day where you can get all that you need to lessen the trip to the machine for cash.
Is it better to use a credit card or cash?
The market conditions today has made credit card a vital tool in helping take advantage of special deals and offers. But even with the popularity of credit card use, does it trump the advantages of paying cash? Although bigger and frequent purchases with cash could mean regular trips to the ATM, is cash better than cards? Here are a few points to look at:
- Think about the reward program. There is no doubt that credit card companies have a reward program that helps you rack up points which you can use as a cash rebate, discounts to certain establishments or even in exchange for certain items. This is designed to make you use your credit card even more. But what you might be missing out when you keep on using your card is keeping track of your expenses. This is because swiping and signing are a lot easier than counting cash from your wallet and when you are able to see and feel the money being handed on to someone as payment, you get to have a sense of accountability with how you use it.
- How does your budget look like. If you are able to manage your budget pretty well, you might have an easier time using a credit card as long as you pay the balance in full every month. But if you are coming up short every month, then using your credit card to pay for purchases and even your bills might just be a temporary lifeline and you will end up in deeper waters the more you use it. This is because if you do not pay up the whole amount every month, you will end up paying more in the months to come.
- What are your financial weaknesses. If you know for a fact that you cannot resist the temptations of seeing that big red sale sign plastered across the mall, then it is better to carry cash to limit your spending. This is one way of making sure that you are able to guard against financial pitfalls by knowing where your weaknesses are.
If you are paying by cash rather than your card because it is more beneficial for you, do not let that innocent trip to the ATM be the cause of your problems. Guard against these common hazards of taking money from machines and be in control of your finances.