If you notice any withdrawals that you didn't make - even small ones - alert your bank immediately. And, as always, be sure to cover up the keypad while punching in your PIN.Īlso, check your bank statement carefully, suggested John Hall, a spokesman for the American Bankers Association. To prevent your card from being skimmed, avoid ATMs with any obvious oddities – such as a device over the card reader or a note telling you to swipe your card through a reader other than the one in the machine.
The devices capture information about your account and the criminals then create fake cards in your name that can be used at any ATM to siphon money from your account.Īt greatest risk for skimming are those stand-alone, non-bank-related ATMs, like the kind you might see at stores, or ATMs that are located outdoors, said Diane Terry, senior director of TransUnion's Fraud Victim Assistance Department. Here's one way the crime works: A tiny camera is inserted in or near an ATM's keypad and works in conjunction with a peripheral device attached to the ATM – perhaps a reader through which you're asked to swipe your card. Here are just a few scams that have taken in the smart and the not-so-smart alike.ĪTM skimming: You don't advertise your PIN and other bank-account information, but a crook may get a hold of it anyway by rigging an ATM. Some scams are IQ-proof because the con artists work remotely. And that's if they deal with you personally. Sophisticated con artists can snare intelligent consumers because they are masters of human nature, can size up their prey and will say what you want to hear and make it highly believable, Marlock noted.
Marlock, a retired police officer and author of "How to Become a Professional Con Artist." They think only the greedy, gullible or brain-dead would get scammed," said Dennis M. "Smart people never think it's going to happen to them.
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) – You're smart, you think you're good at reading people and you know those claims promising "great, once-in-a-lifetime opportunities" are pure bunk.īut that doesn't mean you're safe from scams. You can't avoid all of them but you can at least try to minimize the damage.īy Jeanne Sahadi, CNN/Money Senior Writer
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