Criminals continue to use any justification to steal money and data. The National Police recently issued a warning regarding the emergence of a new technique known as “contactless fraud,” in which thieves attempt to mislead users—usually the elderly—into handing over their money when they attempt to use an ATM.
The scam It doesn’t include a lot of mystery. In this instance, thieves disable ATMs’ physical card entry slots in order to force customers to use the “contactless” reader, which is already commonplace in this type of business and can be used to make purchases. of gadgets.
Security experts claim that this kind of tool is fairly secure, but thieves are taking advantage of it to steal from users without their knowledge.
This is how the fraud operates.
The thieves hang around the ATM, waiting for a user to notice that they can’t insert their card before approaching and asking for assistance. The other criminal uses the “contactless” system while the one who has the card in his possession uses the opportunity to make refunds that can amount to 1,500 euros, while the other tries to divert the victim. According to the police, they have already detained two persons in Granada for utilizing this particular scam.
One of the most popular methods employed by cybercriminals in their operations to steal money is social engineering. both in person and online. The best course of action is to be skeptical if an ATM customer experiences an issue and then, out of nowhere, someone offers to assist them fix it.
In this way, if someone approaches while you are withdrawing money, the ideal is not to accept their help. If you find that the card slot is blocked, and you don’t want to resort to ‘contactless’, the best thing you can do is go find another ATM.