Beware of these common crimes that can happen when you use an ATM.

Shoulder surfing: A criminal stands close to you and looks over your shoulder to find out your PIN or see if you are withdrawing money. With this information, they can steal and use your card, or follow you and steal your money.

Card swapping: One criminal distracts you while another steals your card and replaces it with someone else’s. You leave with the wrong card, and the thieves use your card and PIN to withdraw more money.

Skimming: Criminals put a skimming device on the ATM card slot, which reads private data from your card.

Safety Tips to Avoid Being Scammed

  • Make sure nobody follows you to the ATM or stands too close to you.
  • If you struggle to insert your card in the card slot, contact your bank to let them know.
  • Memorise your PIN, don’t share it with anyone and don’t write it down.
  • Cover the keypad when typing in your PIN.
  • When your ATM transaction is finished, leave immediately.
  • Make sure nobody follows you after using the ATM.