Aussies: Protect yourselves from ATM scams

Hi all,

Take action to protect yourselves from ATM card skimming. Card skimming is when someone copies your credit card/ATM card information illegally. Once your card has been skimmed, skimmers will use your credit card/ATM card information to create a fake copy of your card.

Some scammers use card skimming for stealing your personal details and bank account number to commit identity fraud.  Stealing your personal details allows scammers to borrow money or take out loans in your name.

  Use the information from the ACCC's (Australian Consumers and Competition Commission's) Scam Watch's website at http://www.scamwatch.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/694076 to avoid becoming a victim of different types of scamming (scams are fraudulent business schemes that cheat people of their money).

The following text in orange is from the Scam Watch website:

• Warning signs of skimming

  • A shop assistant takes your card out of your sight in order to process your transaction.
  • You are asked to swipe your card through more than one machine.
  • You see a shop assistant swipe the card through a different machine to the one you used.
  • You notice something suspicious about the card slot on an ATM (e.g. an attached device).
  • You notice unusual or unauthorised transactions on your account or credit card statement.-----------------------------------------------
• Keep your credit card and ATM cards safe. Do not share your personal identity number (PIN) with anyone. Do not keep any written copy of your PIN with the card.
• Check your bank account and credit card statements when you get them. If you see a transaction you cannot explain, report it to your credit union or bank.
• Choose passwords that would be difficult for anyone else to guess.

Fellow Aussies take note: Australia is now being hit by a wave of ATM skimming. The following text in italics is from The Australian (broadsheet newspaper) at http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25332654-12377,00.html:

Sydney has been hardest hit, with police sources saying as many as 40 ATMs have been targeted.

The amount of cash stolen is yet to be tallied.

Thieves have stolen hundreds of details of cards and tens of thousands of dollars in Perth, while a skimming device was found in Cairns, north Queensland, before it snared any victims.

The scams involve criminals stealing card details and selling them to other criminal groups who use them to make fake credit cards.

The bogus cards are often used to buy goods here and overseas.

Police are urging people to protect themselves from the scams by regularly changing passwords and checking bank account and credit card statements.

Learn how to respond to false sppeches and psychological tricks used by scammers at  http://www.scamwatch.gov.au/content/index.phtml/tag/HowScamsWork/ , so your money won't be stolen by scammers.