As the countdown to the next millennium enters its final few days, the Banking Council of South Africa has issued a warning about a new ATM card scam.
False notices have been placed above some ATM machines which say the machine is Y2K compliant and urge clients to press in their pin code three times if their card gets stuck in the machine.
The notice then tells customers not to cancel cards by telephone as it would take a while to process a new one because of Y2K.
Customers are instructed in the notice to go immediately to their nearest branch if their card does not return.
Banking council spokesperson Claire Gebhardt-Mann said it seemed the intention was to distract customers using ATMs so that the criminals could get a better view of the PIN number being punched in.
It could also be a ploy to offer the customer assistance and then rob him or her. "When the 'cancel' button is pressed the criminals use sleight of hand to swap the card with another," she said.
Gebhardt-Mann said the banking council had the following safety tips to guard customers against card swapping tricks:
- Always stand close to the ATM when keying in your PIN number.
- Do not key in your PIN number until the ATM asks for it.
- Never give your PIN number to anyone.
- The PIN is not required when cancelling a card.
- Never keep a record of a PIN number in a wallet in case it is stolen.
- Avoid using a deserted ATM at night.
- Make sure the card in your possession is your own. Mark it in some way so you can immediately notice if it has been swapped.
- Cancel a lost or stolen card immediately.
- Reduce daily withdrawal limit to cut down on loss.