Four Ways an ATM Can Ruin Your Day (and How to Protect Yourself)

Cash may increasingly seem like a relic of a bygone era ( less than 10% of Americans use cash as their primary method of paying for things these days), but paper money is still useful. Of course, it’s nearly impossible to live on cash these days, but when an emergency strikes and the power and data lines go out, cash is still critical . Even if you rarely use cash, you likely have a debit card linked to your bank accounts and use it at an ATM from time to time.

ATMs are quite reliable and safe as long as you take some basic precautions and be aware of the sneaky scams people use to rip you off . But like any machine or computer, ATMs can malfunction, and when they do, it’s often more than just an inconvenience because your money is involved. Bounced checks, late fees – the consequences of your ATM being scammed can be catastrophic. You can’t predict when an ATM will ruin your day, but you can know what can go wrong and how to handle each scenario. Here are all the ways an ATM can scam you, and what to do about it.

When the ATM dispensed the wrong amount of cash

The main way to use ATMs is to withdraw cash from your accounts. It’s usually a fairly simple process: you insert or tap your card, enter your personal identification number (PIN), and follow the on-screen instructions to select the account you access and the amount of money you want.

If this particular ATM is going to scam you, one of two things happens: you don’t get any cash or you get too much cash. While the latter situation may seem like a reason to celebrate, it’s likely that your bank will eventually figure out what happened and you could be hit with fines for holding cash or have your account closed entirely. So, whether it’s zero money or just the wrong amount, there are a few steps you need to take:

• Document the incident. Record the time, take a photo of all messages on the screen and the receipt if you have one. If there are several ATMs on the premises, mark which one it is. Gather all the information you can.

• Report an incorrect amount. If you are at your bank, go inside and notify the staff immediately. If not, call your banking institution immediately and report the problem. Your bank is required by law to investigate your claim, although you may have to fill out a form and provide any documentation you have. Try to remain near the ATM until you have completed reporting the incident if it is due to fraud (see below).

Unfortunately, these types of errors can take several weeks to resolve. Your bank may credit your account, but it is not required to do so until the investigation is complete, so you may have to make some short-term plans.

When an ATM ruins your deposit

Another way an ATM can ruin your life is when you use it to make a deposit – either by eating cash or checks and not crediting the funds to your account, or by miscalculating the deposit amount. This isn’t just infuriating—it can lead to a long list of problems, from unpaid bills to missing payroll for your small business. Here’s what to do if this happens:

• Count everything. It may sound crazy, but a surprising number of people don’t count their cash before putting it into the machine, trusting that it will count the bills for them. Some people also don’t write down check amounts, again relying on the ATM’s optical scanner to accurately tally everything for them. Don’t be lazy: know exactly how much money you are depositing.

• Document and report. Again, the best first step is to take photos and write down all the details: time, location, specific car and the amount of your deposit. Then contact the bank by walking in to find an employee or calling immediately.

The bank is investigating the incident, but be sure to review CCTV footage that can confirm your presence and the fact that the deposit was made. Banks are not always willing to solve this problem for small amounts of money, so be prepared to push a little.

When the ATM eats your card

Many ATMs have become contactless, with the ability to access your accounts using a chip debit card or phone; others have chip readers where you insert the card and immediately pull it out. But many of them still have an old-fashioned mechanism that sucks up your card, reads the magnetic stripe, and then spits it back out. This gives that ATM the opportunity to ruin your day by eating your card.

In terms of the scale of fraud at an ATM, this is, of course, quite small, but dealing with it is still unpleasant. Your obvious first step is to contact your bank and report the problem. At this stage, you will have two options for further actions:

• Request a new card. You can ask the bank to cancel the eaten card and send a replacement. This is the safest choice because it prevents anyone from using your card if they gain access to it before the bank can take it (say, if the ATM decides to spit it back out an hour later). If you go to the bank in person, you can probably get a new card immediately, but if you have to call, it could take seven to 10 days to get that card, and you won’t have a debit card during that time.

• Get a card. You can also ask your bank to simply pick up the card at your next ATM service and send it to you or leave it for you to pick up. This may be a much faster and more convenient choice, but you run some (small) risk of the card being intercepted before your next ATM service.

When an ATM is an unwitting participant in fraud

Finally, ATMs are quite safe, but they are still a prime target for fraud. Most of these scams are based on old scam methods that have nothing to do with your ATM, but there are a few ways to trick a hacked ATM into scamming you:

• Skimmers and flickers. Thieves can install counterfeit card readers on ATMs, which read information from a magnetic stripe or chip and then transmit it to the ATM. The result is that you still complete the transaction, but the thieves have everything they need to duplicate your card. Before inserting or tapping your debit card, physically inspect the reader —try to remove it from the machine and note any physical discrepancies in color or texture.

• Traps. A “trap” is when a thief sabotages an ATM, causing the cash dispensed to get stuck in the machine or your card to get stuck in the machine. When you leave the area, the thief will disable the trap and take either your money or your card (or both). That’s why it’s a good idea to stay at the ATM until you report a spent card or no cash when withdrawing, so that at least you have a record of the problem.

• Cameras. Always close the keypad when entering your PIN. Fraudsters often install tiny cameras in ATM kiosks to capture keypads. If they use a fake reader to duplicate the card and get your PIN from the camera, your account is officially compromised.

• Tapping. One way thieves gain access to ATMs that allow you to simply use your card is by simply waiting for you to leave. Many ATMs that allow tapping will leave the transaction open until you complete it manually – if you simply walk away after getting the cash, the thief will simply walk up to the machine and withdraw as many funds as possible. To add salt to the wound, since you left the screen active, some banks may refuse to reimburse you, claiming that you authorized the transactions. Always end your ATM session before leaving.

More…