How to Safely Use an ATM

By
Holly Doering
– June 13, 2012Posted in: Consumer/Business Services, National
atm2 150x150 How to Safely Use an ATM

Automatic Teller Machines were invented to try to make life easier. But like all technology, they can be used by scammers to steal your personal information and your money.

It is a good idea to use only ATMs inside banks and other buildings; these are least likely to have been tampered with. If you must use an outside ATM not visible to bank personnel, use the same one consistantly. That way you’re more likely to notice if something is different.

When Using an Outside ATM:

Before you begin, press the “enter,” “cancel” and “clear” buttons to be sure they’re in working order. If you get halfway through and they don’t work (or have been glued down by would-be thieves, which happened in San Francisco some years ago) use the ATM’s touch screen to finish or cancel your transaction.

Never leave your card in the machine unattended, even if it is confiscated. Call the bank on your cellphone, or ask someone else to go inside and fetch help.

According to Scambusters, con artists sometimes pose as Good Samaritans helping you with a recalcitrant machine when what they’re really doing is memorizing your PIN. Don’t let anyone close enough to “shoulder surf” your transaction, the website warns. And:

• Check the ATM for external blocking devices such as film glued to trap ATM cards, card skimmers mounted beside the normal card slot with a sign saying “slide card here first,” or card skimmers labeled “card cleaner.”

• Know that sometimes scammers create an entire fake ATM in shopping centers and other public places. Instead of cash, they give you a screen saying the machine is out of money or out of order.

For more tips on how to safely use ATMs, please visit www.scambusters.org.

Previously published in the Spokane Spokesman-Review

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About Holly Doering

Holly Doering has worked for the Better Business Bureau Serving Eastern Washington, North Idaho, and Montana for half a decade. Her areas of expertise include the CORE Values Program (Character, Optimism, Respect, Ethics) for Teens and Charity Review as well as writing and editing. Prior to that, she has written for two newspapers, a local magazine, and taught English at the community college. She is the proud author of a short story in ZYZZYVA literary magazine and has had good luck publishing lots of poetry. Each year she rolls up her sleeves and wades into the autumn Nanowrimo writing madness and has several unfinished novels to her credit.