http://atmcommunity.com/bb/ Join the ATM Collaborative experience en Fri, 30 Jul 2010 18:21:33 +0000 http://atmcommunity.com/bb/topic.php?id=29#post-32 Mon, 05 Jul 2010 11:57:52 +0000 ATMsecurity.com 32@http://atmcommunity.com/bb/ <p>Monthly Digest for June:</p> <p><a href="http://www.atmsecurity.com/monthly-digest/atm-security-monthly-digest/atm-fraud-security-digest-june-2010.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.atmsecurity.com/monthly-digest/atm-security-monthly-digest/atm-fraud-security-digest-june-2010.html</a></p> <p>Combat &amp; Investigate ATM Fraud, Lagos Nigeria:</p> <p><a href="http://www.atmsecurity.com/events.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.atmsecurity.com/events.html</a> </p> http://atmcommunity.com/bb/topic.php?id=28#post-31 Wed, 09 Jun 2010 15:31:45 +0000 ATMsecurity.com 31@http://atmcommunity.com/bb/ <p><a href="http://www.atmsecurity.com/monthly-digest/atm-security-monthly-digest/atm-fraud-security-digest-may-2010.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.atmsecurity.com/monthly-digest/atm-security-monthly-digest/atm-fraud-security-digest-may-2010.html</a> </p> http://atmcommunity.com/bb/topic.php?id=27#post-30 Mon, 10 May 2010 10:10:27 +0000 ATMsecurity.com 30@http://atmcommunity.com/bb/ <p><a href="http://www.atmsecurity.com/monthly-digest/atm-security-monthly-digest/atm-fraud-security-digest-april-2010.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.atmsecurity.com/monthly-digest/atm-security-monthly-digest/atm-fraud-security-digest-april-2010.html</a> </p> http://atmcommunity.com/bb/topic.php?id=26#post-29 Thu, 08 Apr 2010 14:20:02 +0000 ATMsecurity.com 29@http://atmcommunity.com/bb/ <p><a href="http://www.atmsecurity.com/monthly-digest/atm-security-monthly-digest/atm-fraud-security-digest-march-2010.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.atmsecurity.com/monthly-digest/atm-security-monthly-digest/atm-fraud-security-digest-march-2010.html</a> </p> http://atmcommunity.com/bb/topic.php?id=25#post-28 Thu, 25 Mar 2010 20:14:23 +0000 info 28@http://atmcommunity.com/bb/ <p>Kenyan banks are racing to secure their systems against a new wave of cyber crime that has seen them lose hundreds of millions of shillings to fraudsters and eroded consumer confidence in technology-based banking services. </p> <p>The Central Bank of Kenya’s latest supervision report indicates that commercial banks are losing an average of Sh100 million to fraudsters every month – signalling the level of threat in the industry and the amount of investment that needs to be made to keep customer deposits safe. </p> <p>CBK’s fraud department data indicates that the incidence of banking fraud rose to three per cent of total financial transactions last year, from 0.5 per cent five years, helped by increased bandwidth that came with fibre connectivity and increased use of technology by banks. </p> <p>Central Bank says that although most criminals still use traditional methods of stealing cash through bank break-ins, use of fraudulent cheques or electronic fund transfer taps has pushed up computer related fraud and compromised point of sale devices.</p> <p>Concern over cyber security has been rising in recent months after a number of financial institutions reported illegal activities targeting their operations with millions of shillings at stake. </p> <p>In the past six months, anti banking fraud experts have reported the copying of a bank’s website and its posting online to capture sensitive client information. </p> <p>A foreign national has been caught withdrawing large amounts of money from a bank’s ATM hall and an international bank’s ATM has been hacked, resulting in loss of customers’ money.</p> <p>Card theft, information skimming (insertion of electronic devices in ATM machines to capture customers’ personal data), compromised PINs, vandalism and cash trapping are top on the list of the most common forms of banking sector-related cybercrime.</p> <p>Analysts reckon that the introduction of online payment portals for e-commerce could be the next frontier for cyber criminals.</p> <p>“Hackers were originally kids trying to show off. But it is no longer about fame and showing off, it is about making money and harming the individual,” said Mwenesi Muasalia, the Country Manager at Symantec, an online security company.</p> <p>The growing threat posed by this sophisticated breed of criminals has forced financial institutions to look into their processes afresh.</p> <p>Though the amount of money lost to cyber criminals is big enough, bankers insist the real damage is on increased operational costs, a build-up of bad debt, erosion of customer confidence and steep drop in revenues as banks are forced to invest in new technology to protect customer information. </p> <p>In the past two years, the banks have invested more than Sh20 billion in security solutions meant to safeguard their clients from cyber attacks mainly targeting new product lines such as online banking, card-related businesses and e-commerce channels.</p> <p>Bankers say the increased number of ATM networks and use of credit cards in ordinary business transactions is posing the greatest challenge to securing their online operations.</p> <p>Equity Bank, Kenya’s biggest financial institution by customer base, recently admitted that its on-line security needs had significantly increased and clinched a deal with a Belgian business partner for a card management system that speeds up transactions made at more than 3,000 points to curb fraud. </p> http://atmcommunity.com/bb/topic.php?id=24#post-27 Sat, 06 Mar 2010 09:28:41 +0000 ATMsecurity.com 27@http://atmcommunity.com/bb/ <p><a href="http://www.atmsecurity.com/monthly-digest/atm-security-monthly-digest/atm-fraud-and-security-digest-february-2010.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.atmsecurity.com/monthly-digest/atm-security-monthly-digest/atm-fraud-and-security-digest-february-2010.html</a> </p> http://atmcommunity.com/bb/topic.php?id=23#post-26 Mon, 11 Jan 2010 11:16:02 +0000 ATMsecurity.com 26@http://atmcommunity.com/bb/ <p>Feedback is always welcome and remember you can still subscribe for free on the left hand side of the page: <a href="http://www.atmsecurity.com/monthly-digest/atm-security-monthly-digest/atm-fraud-and-security-digest-december-2009.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.atmsecurity.com/monthly-digest/atm-security-monthly-digest/atm-fraud-and-security-digest-december-2009.html</a> </p> http://atmcommunity.com/bb/topic.php?id=22#post-25 Tue, 15 Dec 2009 10:03:33 +0000 ATMsecurity.com 25@http://atmcommunity.com/bb/ <p><a href="http://www.atmsecurity.com/monthly-digest/atm-security-monthly-digest/atm-fraud-and-security-digest-november-2009.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.atmsecurity.com/monthly-digest/atm-security-monthly-digest/atm-fraud-and-security-digest-november-2009.html</a> </p> http://atmcommunity.com/bb/topic.php?id=21#post-24 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:16:31 +0000 ATMsecurity.com 24@http://atmcommunity.com/bb/ <p><a href="http://www.atmsecurity.com/monthly-digest/atm-security-monthly-digest/atm-fraud-and-security-digest-october-2009.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.atmsecurity.com/monthly-digest/atm-security-monthly-digest/atm-fraud-and-security-digest-october-2009.html</a> </p> http://atmcommunity.com/bb/topic.php?id=20#post-23 Thu, 15 Oct 2009 11:03:44 +0000 ATMsecurity.com 23@http://atmcommunity.com/bb/ <p>Feedback from the community welcome.</p> <p>Digest for September: </p> <p><a href="http://www.atmsecurity.com/monthly-digest/atm-security-monthly-digest/atm-fraud-and-security-digest-september-2009.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.atmsecurity.com/monthly-digest/atm-security-monthly-digest/atm-fraud-and-security-digest-september-2009.html</a> </p> http://atmcommunity.com/bb/topic.php?id=19#post-22 Sat, 26 Sep 2009 11:38:38 +0000 ATMsecurity.com 22@http://atmcommunity.com/bb/ <p><a href="http://www.atmsecurity.com/monthly-digest/atm-security-monthly-digest/atm-fraud-and-security-digest-august-2009.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.atmsecurity.com/monthly-digest/atm-security-monthly-digest/atm-fraud-and-security-digest-august-2009.html</a> </p> http://atmcommunity.com/bb/topic.php?id=18#post-21 Tue, 08 Sep 2009 08:09:57 +0000 info 21@http://atmcommunity.com/bb/ <p>History repeated itself on Sunday night when the ATM centre outside the State Bank of India's NCL Campus branch was found burgled for the second time in 13 months. Curiously, the same modus operandi was used to burgle the ATM on both occassions. </p> <p>Just like they had done on July 17, last year, the burglars broke open the ATM's outdoor shutter using iron rods. </p> <p>The only difference was, last time they had managed to bend the cash tray, something they could not do on Sunday night. </p> <p>Last time the burglars - Yamnuri Basappa Vasmani, Arvind Somnathkar and Bipin Kumar Jogindar Singh � were arrested 24 hours after Mirror carried CCTV surveillance images. </p> <p>This time, however, the burglars were smarter � they covered their faces. Mirror has clips of the CCTV footage at the ATM that shows three youths at the ATM at 1.37 am on Sunday. </p> <p>Bank manager Brahmankar said, The footage shows the security guard, Vasudev Mishra, retiring to the battery room at 1.04 am. </p> <p>At 1.27 am, a couple used the ATM. At 1.37 am, the robbers entered the ATM with iron rods. They then enter the battery room and hold Mishra at knifepoint, asked him how to take money out. </p> <p>When the guard fails to provide the information, they tie him up. Thankfully, they are not able to break the electronic iron door.� </p> <p>Mishra's son Sonu, who works as the morning guard, said �My father was in a state of shock. He told me three robbers had threatened to kill him if he raised an alarm. </p> <p>After they left the battery room, he tried to escape but the trio caught him and tied him up again. Brahmankar said that in views of the second robbery attempt here, they are planning to relocate the machine. </p> <p>Inspector Mahadev Chavan from Chatuhshrungi police station said they were going over suspects with the CCTV footage, but the masks were making the probe difficult. He said he would question the robbers who had struck in July 2008. </p> http://atmcommunity.com/bb/topic.php?id=17#post-20 Tue, 08 Sep 2009 07:52:38 +0000 info 20@http://atmcommunity.com/bb/ <p>US prosecutors have charged a man with stealing data relating to 130 million credit and debit cards. </p> <p>Officials say it is the biggest case of identity theft in American history. </p> <p>They say Albert Gonzalez, 28, and two un-named Russian co-conspirators hacked into the payment systems of retailers, including the 7-Eleven chain. </p> <p>Prosecutors say they aimed to sell the data on. If convicted, Mr Gonzalez faces up to 20 years in jail for wire fraud and five years for conspiracy. </p> <p>He would also have to pay a fine of $250,000 (GBP150,000) for each of the two charges.<br /> 'Standard' attack </p> <p>SQL INJECTION ATTACK<br /> �This is a fairly common way that fraudsters try to gain access to consumers' card details.<br /> �They scour the internet for weaknesses in companies' programming which allows them to get behind protection measures.<br /> �Once they find a weakness, they insert a specially designed code into the network that allows them to access card details.<br /> �There is little consumers can do to protect themselves from the effects of this type of attack.<br /> �The general advice to cardholders is to check bank statements carefully and report any suspicious transactions immediately. </p> <p>How secure is your card info? </p> <p>Mr Gonzalez used a technique known as an "SQL injection attack" to access the databases and steal information, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) said. </p> <p>The method is believed to involve exploiting errors in programming to access data.<br /> Edward Wilding, a fraud investigator, told the BBC that this method was "a pretty standard way" for fraudsters to try to access personal data. </p> <p>He added that this case probably "involved extremely well researched, especially configured codes, not standard attack codes downloaded from the internet". </p> <p>Mr Wilding said there was little consumers could do to protect themselves against this kind of fraud. </p> <p>Internet and telephone transactions using credit cards were most vulnerable, he said, though added it was a failure of corporations, not customers. </p> <p>Michelle Whiteman, from anti-fraud organisation Financial Fraud Action UK, said that consumers must check their bank statements regularly and flag up any suspicious transactions to their bank. </p> <p>She said that online, telephone and mail order fraud were on the increase, along with fraud committed abroad on UK cards, according to figures released in March. </p> <p>But she stressed that any victim of fraud would "always be refunded in full". </p> http://atmcommunity.com/bb/topic.php?id=16#post-19 Tue, 01 Sep 2009 07:41:11 +0000 ATMsecurity.com 19@http://atmcommunity.com/bb/ <p>ATMIA publishes best practices for preventing ATM skimming (http://www.atmsecurity.com/news/atm-fraud/atmis-publishes-best-practices-for-preventing-skimming.html)which includes an international classification system created by DFR Risk Management (http://www.dfrriskmanagement.com/) </p> http://atmcommunity.com/bb/topic.php?id=15#post-18 Thu, 20 Aug 2009 21:46:00 +0000 info 18@http://atmcommunity.com/bb/ <p>GOLD Coasters are being asked to help fight Eastern European criminals who have stolen more than $80,000 of our hard-earned cash using ATM skimming devices.</p> <p>The city's stunning beaches and tourist-friendly nature are said to be attracting Romanian and Bulgarian thieves, who are targeting ATMs across the Coast.</p> <p>Organised criminals are using the offer of Coast holidays to recruit fraudsters to 'wreak their havoc' here.</p> <p>Detective Superintendent Brian Hay from the fraud and corporate crime group said the Gold Coast was being hit the hardest by the thieves, who blended in easily among the city's tourists.</p> <p>"If they look Eastern European, they are not going to stand out," said Supt Hay.</p> <p>"Plus, if an organised crime figure offered someone a holiday to the Gold Coast for two weeks and said 'go do what you need to do, then enjoy yourself', it's a pretty attractive offer." </p> http://atmcommunity.com/bb/topic.php?id=14#post-17 Thu, 20 Aug 2009 21:40:17 +0000 info 17@http://atmcommunity.com/bb/ <p>Two people were robbed while withdrawing money at ATM's in separate incidents in central Johannesburg, Gauteng police said on Thursday.<br /> "Adelina Motsetse, 22, withdrew money at an ATM yesterday [Wednesday] at about 1pm in the central business district when she was followed by two females," said Captain Chaka Marope in a statement. </p> <p>The robbers grabbed Motsetse from behind, threatened her with a knife before taking a bag containing R8700 cash and another containing clothes. </p> <p>Also on Wednesday two men held Joyce Masenkane at gunpoint and robber her as she was getting into her car after withdrawing money from an ATM in College Square in the CBD shortly before 2pm. They took two bags containing an undisclosed amount of money and fled in a white double cab bakkie. </p> <p>Police said that they would increase patrols at banks in the area. </p> <p>They warned members of the public to take the following precautions when withdrawing money or depositing money: </p> <p>•Alternating branches to do banking transactions, </p> <p>•depositing or withdrawing money at different times, </p> <p>•not to deposit or withdraw large amounts of money alone, </p> <p>•using different vehicles and different routes to and from the ATM, </p> <p>•be aware of people who know that you are going to deposit or draw large amounts of money in your business, </p> <p>•avoid using isolated ATMs at night and </p> <p>•if feeling unsafe use another ATM. </p> http://atmcommunity.com/bb/topic.php?id=13#post-16 Thu, 20 Aug 2009 21:37:39 +0000 info 16@http://atmcommunity.com/bb/ <p>A man forced a couple to withdraw $200 from an ATM on Wednesday morning.</p> <p>Police said the man asked a woman if she had a lighter when he pulled a gun on her at the Artisan On The Bluff Apartments in the 6600 block of Babcock Road at 6 a.m.</p> <p>The man forced the woman into her apartment, where she woke up her boyfriend, police said.</p> <p>The man demanded money and ordered the couple into their car and drove to a nearby ATM, police said.</p> <p>The couple then dropped off the man at a nearby intersection and called police.</p> <p>No arrest has been made. </p> http://atmcommunity.com/bb/topic.php?id=12#post-15 Thu, 20 Aug 2009 21:34:45 +0000 info 15@http://atmcommunity.com/bb/ <p>By Mohammad Ghazal (http://www.jordantimes.com/?news=19380)</p> <p>Police have urged the public to be cautious when using automated teller machines (ATMs), after 12 foreigners were arrested this week for committing ATM fraud.</p> <p>The thieves, who are believed to have been operating in the country for about two weeks, installed card skimmers and small cameras on ATMs around Amman, using these devices to collect customers’ bank card information and withdraw money from their accounts. No figures were available on the amount of stolen money.</p> <p>The 12 are believed to be part of a network of ATM thieves working in several countries in the region, said Public Security Department Spokesperson Major Mohammad Khatib.</p> <p>The gang’s devices made it possible to read bank cards’ magnetic strips and record personal identification numbers (PINs) entered by bank clients, Khatib told The Jordan Times over the phone on Thursday.</p> <p>The police raided the homes of the gang members, arrested them and seized their laptops, along with numerous fake bank cards on which they stored the stolen data and which they used to make withdrawals or purchases.</p> <p>One of the 12 was arrested while in possession of about 40 fake cards, Khatib told The Jordan Times.</p> <p>The officer urged citizens to be careful when using ATMs, to cover their hands when entering their PINs and to check for any suspicious devices before using the machine.</p> <p>Buthaina Jadoun, whose information was stolen earlier this week by a card reader installed on one of the machines in Al Madina Al Munawara Street, said she lost JD600, all the money that was in her account at the time.</p> <p>“Last Saturday, I went to withdraw some money from my bank’s branch near the 7th Circle area. As I withdrew JD40, I remembered my brother warning me to be careful when using an ATM as he works as a banker and had heard of a group of ATM thieves in town,” Jadoun, an editor at Hatem children’s magazine, told The Jordan Times.</p> <p>After withdrawing the money, Jadoun said she was worried and decided to wait in her car to see if anybody came after her to use the machine.</p> <p>“I saw many Jordanians using the machine after me, but there was a car in front of the machine where there were some blond men who were certainly non-Jordanians. I doubted that they were from the group my brother told me about, but I waited for a few minutes and then left,” she added.</p> <p>On Tuesday, Jadoun said, she went to withdraw JD600 from her account, but could not.</p> <p>“I entered the bank and they told me that JD600 were taken from my account in a purchase transaction conducted in a foreign country,” said Jadoun, adding that she will sue the bank if they do not compensate her.</p> <p>An ATM expert at a local bank, who asked to remain unnamed, said there is no law that stipulates compensation for banks’ clients when money is stolen from their accounts through ATM fraud.</p> <p>“It is up to the banks to compensate clients in such cases, especially if the withdrawal is from a machine affiliated with the bank the client uses,” said the source.</p> <p>He recommended that card users change their passwords.</p> <p>However, the expert said banks should take responsibility for compensating clients in cases of ATM fraud as banks in Jordan are not doing enough to raise awareness among their clients of how to avoid being victims of ATM fraud. </p> <p>According to the source, some banks in Jordan use certain devices in their ATMs that cannot be tampered with. However, he said banks in Jordan need to pay more attention to raising awareness and installing modern devices that are unbreakable by ATM scammers.</p> <p>Head of IT at Cairo Amman Bank Omar Yaqoub said the use of ATM skimmers is not only restricted to Jordan as many ATM fraud cases are reported across the world.</p> <p>Yaqoub said the bank he works at introduced in June the “IrisGuard iBank Suite”, iris scanners, a new technology that uses cameras to obtain eye-prints from customers and then process transactions.</p> <p>“This technique is reliable and there is no way for fraud and deception as it depends on the iris, and iris of each person is different from another,” he told The Jordan Times. </p> http://atmcommunity.com/bb/topic.php?id=11#post-14 Tue, 18 Aug 2009 15:02:48 +0000 ATMsecurity.com 14@http://atmcommunity.com/bb/ <p>For those with a particular interest in ATM fraud and security issues, we have just published our latest monthly digest.<br /> The digest may be found from the home page <a href="http://www.ATMsecurity.com" rel="nofollow">http://www.ATMsecurity.com</a> or directly using <a href="http://www.atmsecurity.com/monthly-digest/atm-security-monthly-digest/atm-fraud-and-security-digest-july-2009.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.atmsecurity.com/monthly-digest/atm-security-monthly-digest/atm-fraud-and-security-digest-july-2009.html</a></p> <p>If you would like to receive alerts directly, subscription is currently free and available to those registering with a valid and genuine business e-mail address. See the ‘subscribe’ link on the left hand side of the home page.</p> <p>Feedback and suggestions are always welcome. </p> http://atmcommunity.com/bb/topic.php?id=10#post-13 Tue, 11 Aug 2009 00:11:57 +0000 editor 13@http://atmcommunity.com/bb/ <p>This is a great achievement in Liberia. We hope to see numerous dividends from this great feat achieved in the new e-payment industry in Liberia. </p> http://atmcommunity.com/bb/topic.php?id=10#post-12 Tue, 11 Aug 2009 00:10:11 +0000 editor 12@http://atmcommunity.com/bb/ <br /> http://atmcommunity.com/bb/topic.php?id=10#post-11 Mon, 10 Aug 2009 22:01:09 +0000 editor 11@http://atmcommunity.com/bb/ <p>Many, if not all of us, know that Liberia's future will be defined by technology and market forces. Ostensibly, this requires a shift toward a new paradigm based on electrons and information; zeros and ones! We also know that Liberians will embrace pioneering initiatives as long as those initiatives bring development and opportunities to the country. </p> <p>Hence, it came to me as no surprise when I learned that Liberians have overwhelmingly embraced the ATM card (automated teller machine) introduced by EcoBank. EcoBank's initiative only buttresses what I have espoused over the past weeks: that to succeed in the “new economy”, firms will need to have vision, be innovative, have the audacity to explore the unfamiliar and pioneer new and exciting ways to do business. </p> <p>This is how you gain durable competitive advantage! Success in this global and digital economy requires a departure from the status quo which means either re-engineering processes or exploring new and innovative approaches to business. </p> <p>The introduction of the ATM card in Liberia paves the way to more pioneering business initiatives which I believe Liberians will take advantage of in an effort to gain control of the economy and compete globally. </p> http://atmcommunity.com/bb/topic.php?id=9#post-10 Mon, 10 Aug 2009 21:50:07 +0000 editor 10@http://atmcommunity.com/bb/ <p>State Bank of India (SBI) has inked an agreement with AGS Infotech, a provider of technology-based solutions for banking, retail, petroleum and postal sectors, for 1,000 ATMs worth approx Rs. 50 crore.</p> <p>AGS Infotech will supply, install, commission and maintain ATMs and ATM sites, the company said in a release. </p> <p>According to Sunil R.Udupa, president &amp; CEO, AGS Infotech, the first phase involved installing a minimum of 303 ATMs in three circles of SBI within one month. "This included a fair number of ATM sites to be built within the same time frame. This tested our strength and we re happy to have achieved the target set by SBI."</p> <p>Under the deal, AGS Infotech is responsible for total implementation services, involving building the bank s ATM centres, along with all related equipments like UPS, AC, etc. </p> http://atmcommunity.com/bb/topic.php?id=8#post-9 Mon, 10 Aug 2009 21:38:57 +0000 editor 9@http://atmcommunity.com/bb/ <p>Seeking out cashpoints on the move can be a pain not even Google Maps can ease.</p> <p>They’re tricky to track down, and always out of sight when you seem to need them most. But now MasterCard’s ATM Hunter brings reliable location data for thousands of cashpoints all over the world direct to the iPhone.</p> <p>It’s a neat idea: if anyone knows where the nearest cashpoints are, it’s MasterCard, and the data dished up is both accurate and clear.</p> <p>As you’d expect, ATM Hunter uses the iPhone’s GPS chip to pin down your location, but there’s also the option to search by location or airport, presumably to grab foreign cash as soon as you’re abroad.</p> <p>Each cashpoint highlighted by ATM Hunter comes complete with a map and accurate distance between your current location and the money machine. Searches can also be whittled down by the type of cashpoint you’re looking for. Need one with wheelchair access? No problem. Keen to avoid surcharges? ATM Hunter can make sure you dodge them too.</p> <p>Once you’ve found an ATM you can also text its location to friends. A nice touch, if one we’re not sure we’d ever use.</p> <p>Overall, however, ATM Hunter is a solid and speedy app. It’s well-designed, and also includes handy facts and tips to do with ATMs. Did you know some countries include letters as well as numbers in their banks’ PINs? No, us neither.</p> <p>Stick it on your phone. It’s free, well-made and genuinely useful. MasterCard’s data is ultra-accurate across the whole of the UK, and abroad, so it’s guaranteed to be useful wherever you find yourself. </p> http://atmcommunity.com/bb/topic.php?id=7#post-8 Mon, 10 Aug 2009 21:30:33 +0000 editor 8@http://atmcommunity.com/bb/ <p>AN employee got the shock of her life when she opened up an ATM at her service station.</p> <p>Inside, she found a mouse with a home valued at upwards of $380.</p> <p>The little critter had chewed up 14 $US20 bills - two of which were mushed up beyond repair - to build a nest inside the Gem Stop Chevron's cash machine in La Grande in eastern Oregon.</p> <p>On current exhange rates, the nest would fetch $382 in Australia.</p> <p>The shocked employee, named by the Associated Press as Millie Taylor, said she screamed and slammed shut the ATM when she saw her tiny tenant.</p> <p>Staff at the servo said they were mystified as to how the mouse made it inside the machine in the first place.</p> <p>But since its eviction, the ATM worked fine, the report said.</p> <p>There was also a happy ending for the mouse. While it did have to find other, presumably less lucrative lodgings, it was at least allowed to run free when released outside the station. </p> http://atmcommunity.com/bb/topic.php?id=6#post-7 Mon, 10 Aug 2009 21:15:01 +0000 editor 7@http://atmcommunity.com/bb/ <p>Managing Director/CEO ValuCard Nigeria Plc, Mr. Kyari Bukar, has called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to enforce strict compliance , by all players in the card payments industry, with the EMV specification .<br /> He said that all ATM cards must have no special relationship with any card scheme if the country's national payments system must be in line with global best practices.<br /> The ValuCard boss made the call recently at a forum in Lagos on the emerging e-payment platform. </p> <p>Responding to a question posed on what he thought about the CBN policy on offsite ATMs, Bukar said 'The CBN policy on offsite ATMs is okay, as long as the interest of the cardholder is protected and that all the offsite ATMs must be able to accept all cards. Whichever way we look at the scenario, ultimately, the cardholder is king.'<br /> The ValuCard helmsman called on the CBN to call on all players to choose between being a card scheme or a service provider in line with experiences from best practices globally. </p> <p>A card scheme according to Bukar is 'an entity, company, association or consortium that owns a trademark, sign, name, logo or other signage' which is displayed on payment cards or tokens and at merchant locations, Points of Sale, Automated Teller Machines (ATM) or any acceptance device or location indicating usage or acceptance of cards bearing the trademark, sign, name, logo, or other signage.<br /> Following global best practices, the ValuCard boss said a card scheme fixes the interchange income due and payable to issuers under its card scheme, while acquirers fix MSC based on their cost of providing service to merchants. </p> http://atmcommunity.com/bb/topic.php?id=5#post-6 Mon, 10 Aug 2009 21:10:14 +0000 editor 6@http://atmcommunity.com/bb/ <p>Bank deposits at ATM machines just became low-tech thanks to a fascinating and cool new application that will allow Apple iPhone users to photograph both sides of a check, then send the images via their iPhone to make a deposit. </p> <p>The new <a href="mailto:Deposit@Mobile">Deposit@Mobile</a> application will debut this week from San Antonio, Texas-based USA </p> <p>Artwork: Chip TaylorA (United Services Automobile Association), a privately-held financial services and insurance company, according to a report in The New York Times. USAA posted a video on the new application on YouTube to show off its innovative capabilities. </p> <p>USAA already released an iPhone application in May that allows members to check their bank balances, transfer money, find nearby ATMs and make other inquiries using their iPhones (and it's not the only one). Mobile banking is expected to grow. But thisnew check-depositing process will add a new dimension to the group's existing services. </p> <p>The iPhone check-depositing process won't be the first time USAA has offered offsite deposits from back customers, though. Back in February 2007, the bank introduced a process in which customers could scan their checks into their home computers and then transmit the images to the back for deposit. </p> <p>After using the new iPhone application, customers won't have to send the deposited checks to the bank later, but are advised to void the documents or save them for safekeeping, according to The New York Times report. Due to concerns about fraud and theft, only customers who are able to obtain credit accounts or have insurance with USAA will be eligible to use the new service. </p> <p>Will this kind of application be available in the future for other brands and models of smartphones? Those possibilities will come in the future, according to posts on the bank's blog, but further details are not yet available. </p> <p>Yet as cool as this is, I still am a bit concerned about the possibilities of fraud when you allow people to deposit their checks electronically, then still hang on to that alluring piece of paper, with its possible temptation to try to deposit again somewhere else. You've seen the film "Catch Me If You Can," a true story about check fraud, haven't you? </p> <p>I sure hope that USAA officials -- and those at all the banks now asking 'why didn't we think of that?' -- have very carefully thought about making this as secure as possible to prevent such fraudulent activities. Because what we don't need is one more thing fouling up our nation's financial system right now. We've got enough problems fixing Wall Street, the banks, and our economy, after the recent financial meltdown. Technology promises to try to help us, not put us in a bigger hole. At least that's the hope. I, for one, hope that this new iPhone app won't be something we come to regret. </p> http://atmcommunity.com/bb/topic.php?id=4#post-5 Mon, 10 Aug 2009 21:01:00 +0000 editor 5@http://atmcommunity.com/bb/ <p>State-run Corporation Bank plans revealed its plans to roll out a new facility, E-payment through ATM' for its customers. </p> <p>The facility will help the customers of the bank to pay various taxes (like income tax, fringe benefit tax, securities transaction tax (STT), gift taxes; etc at anytime from anywhere. </p> <p>It is expected that the bank will roll out the new product within next two weeks. </p> <p>The new facility will be an additional source of revenue for the bank. The bank will earn a revenue of Rs. 0.11 per payment made. </p> <p>Commenting on the prospects of the initiative, JM Garg, chairman and managing director, Corporation Bank, said, "We estimate that nearly 10 lakh of them will avail the facility initially. However, the facility is being made available for any taxpayer, disregard of the fact if they are our customer." </p> <p>He added that bank has a customer base of one crore, of which 35 lakh are from the tax-paying community. </p> <p>During the first quarter of the current fiscal, the total business of the bank crossed Rs 1 lakh crore. </p> <p>The bank plans to scale up its branch network by adding about 100 branches during the current fiscal. During the first quarter of the year, the bank opened 25 new branches. </p> <p>The bank also plans to recruit plans 1400 staff members during the current fiscal. </p> http://atmcommunity.com/bb/topic.php?id=3#post-4 Mon, 10 Aug 2009 17:26:10 +0000 editor 4@http://atmcommunity.com/bb/ <p>Wonders shall never end. It has been reported how unsuspecting Nigerians are being defrauded by unscrupulous persons purporting to be representing telecommunication companies. Only last Saturday, my neighbour, Efe, received a text message which said "CONGRATS!!! You are among the 20 lucky winners of N1million in the ongoing THANK YOU OFFER with ticket No. P286, call 0802-1130--- for claims NOW" The message came from one of the big telecommunication companies in the country. Efe called the number and a male voice answered and introduced himself as Kolawole Williams. He told Efe to proceed to any FCMB or Unity bank ATM to encash the N1million.</p> <p>He added that a formal invitation and flight ticket will be sent to her later to join the other winners in Abuja for the presentation ceremony and party. Unknown to Kolawole, Efe was suspicious of the call from the very beginning, so she quickly called the Call Centre of the GSM company for confirmation. "It is a scam", she was warned.</p> <p>Efe decided to get to the bottom of it. She called Kolawole a second time to explain to her what to do when she gets to the ATM. He told her that she would be given a 15-digit number that would enable her access the N1million in cash. Efe regretted her inability to go to the bank that day because it was raining heavily. She suggested to go the next day, but Kolawole quickly informed her that the offer was valid for only 24hours and also advised her to beware of the prying eyes of the security men at the ATM premises who may compromise her PIN if unprotected.</p> <p>Efe put a third call through. This time it took a long time before Kolawole answered. Pretending to be at the ATM, she asked Kolawole to direct her on what to do.</p> <p>Kolawole: Insert your ATM card.</p> <p>Efe: Which card? You did not tell me to bring along a card, and besides, I don't bank with this bank.</p> <p>Kolawole (very furious):Don't you have a bank account? Don't you have an ATM card?</p> <p>Efe: Well, Well....ehh. Ok, let me search my bag. Yes, my ATM card is here.</p> <p>Kolawole: Now insert your ATM</p> <p>Efe (pretending to have inserted a card): Done</p> <p>Kolawole: Is your account current or savings?</p> <p>Efe: Savings</p> <p>Kolawole: Press "Savings"</p> <p>Efe: Done</p> <p>Kolawole: What is the message?</p> <p>Efe: Kolawole, you should tell me the message to expect. Please guide me.</p> <p>Kolawole: Now key in this number-008***</p> <p>Efe: Done.</p> <p>Kolawole: Now key in this 15-digit number - 217************</p> <p>At this point, Efe's patience had expired. She began to rein abuses at him. Kolawole quickly cut off the line of communication. Efe shook her head in disbelief.</p> <p>It is advisable not to act on any text message promising you large sums of money because it could be another scam. Fraudsters have gone hi-tech in their effort to dupe unsuspecting citizens. Some people have also fallen prey because of their greed for money. Others have selfishly kept such transactions to themselves hoping to make a kill. In the end, they are hopelessly drained of their life savings and only then do they disclose their ordeal to others. Money does not come that easy, you have to work hard to earn it. When you are in doubt of any text message, always find time to double-check with the relevant authorities before you act. It could be a new trick to defraud you; the hi-tech way. </p>