Travel

10 Insane Overseas ATM Scams That’ll Make You Paranoid

2019-06-22 , 2:00 pm

Last Updated on 2022-10-15 , 2:38 pm

Okay, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m an old soul. When I travel overseas, I don’t carry any bank cards with me.

Instead, I’ll just bring a certain amount of Singapore dollars together with the country’s currency when I go travelling.

Why? Because it’s too dangerous.

Don’t believe me? Check out these 10 insane ATM scams that will make you paranoid AF. These ones no joke. #NotKidding

1. When you check out the keypad and card slot but didn’t find anything

So you’ve checked the keypad and card slot, and everything seems legit. Well…not quite. Because the entire thing is rigged.

How the hell did they get it there in the first place?!

2. The green, secure card reader might not be secure

Put your card in the slot and you’ll have your entire card scanned by the scammers. Who will then proceed to thank you by spending with your card.

3. Even the earphone jacks have to be checked

Inspect everything on the machine, even ones that you don’t use.

4. Checking the machine isn’t enough

If you think checking the earphone jack is excessive, wait till you see where the pinhole camera is hidden here. Didn’t expect that, did you?

5. Scammers so smart they camouflaged the equipment

A guy spotted this because he uses the machine frequently. But what about those who don’t know what the machine originally looked like?

6. Sometimes, it’s not due to wear and tear

If you see cracks on the machine slots, it might be good to change to a new one. Why? Because scammers might have broken it apart to put a scanner within.

7. Lift up the keypad

Think a key logger, just in physical format. If the keypad feels loose, it might be a good idea to check if the real keypad is located below a fake one.

The keypad logs your pin and the scanner scans your card. Voila, say goodbye to your hard-earned cash.

8. Here’s a tricky one, because some real ones are designed like this

If the card slot is sticking out, it could be a fake reader. Of course, do note that some ATM machines in Europe are designed like this and it’s real.

9. The effort to put a pinhole camera

Another case of great camouflage, this time, scammers install a pinhole camera at the hand guard that’s supposed to keep your PIN secret.

You’ll never know who’s watching… #TheStartOfAHorrorMovie

10. It pays to check everything before making a withdrawal

This ATM got the full treatment. The green card reader placed over the card slot and a panel over a screen which has a pinhole camera to record your PIN.

Here’s a piece of advice: Only use ATM machines located within banks. They have 24-hour surveillance so it’s harder for scammers to tamper with them.

Or even better, go cashless. But that has its own dangers as well.

Stay safe, people!

Featured Image: boredpanda.com