Be careful when your using those ATM's

[HHTel]

Just a word of warning when using ATM's here. You should:

Check that there doesn't appear to be anything untoward in the card slot.

Cover your card as your inserting it.

Cover the keypad when putting in you PIN.

Check your account regularly.

Yesterday morning, I checked my bank account on the net. Got quite a shock to find I was in an overdraft situation. Looked down at the transactions and found some cash taken in US dollars.
Had to wait until the afternoon to ring my bank in the UK. After much security checking etc, they agreed they were fraudulant withdrawals. It seems they were using ATM's in Los Angeles.
I don't use the card on the internet. I never make purchases with it. It's always on my person. For several years it has only been used for cash withdrawals here.
My bank concludes that the mag strip has been read while using an ATM then details sent to a setup in the states.
It was easy to prove that it was fraud and I will be re-imbursed. However, in the meantime, I have to wait for a new card which could take a couple of weeks and also hope the cash goes back into my account quite quickly. In the meantime, I have no way of accessing cash!
Now I'll find out how many friends I have..... lol

[Homer]

Good advice.

Check your account regularly.

I don't check my accounts (US and Thai), they automatically notify me for any transaction. Can't imagine not having an account that lets customers choose which transactions trigger an email or text message.

[advocate]

Had my ATM card hacked this week and waiting for a new one. Avoid using your card anywhere near the Binta Baht area.

At 7-11, tried to use the card, wouldn't give me my 20,000 Bt but took it out of my account. My foreign bank said the Thai bank insisted I had gotten the money. I think the Thai bank is involved in some of the scams.

This is the 4rth time in 7 years. In future, I am only going to use it at one of the main bank branches here. No more 7-11 and other likely suspect locations.

[B6PTW]

My GF,s card was cloned we suspect by an ATM near Tesco in Market village as these are the only ATM,s she uses. She was lucky as her UK bank detected use in Hong Kong and France on the same day and notified her and also refunded the money immediately. She now only uses ATM,s at bank,s.

[Lung Per]

This seems to be a specialty for East European criminals. They pop up from time in different countries, often Romanians and Bulgarians. Not too long ago the Thai Police caught a few red handed.
Best advice: Don't use open-air ATMs as they can more easily be tampered with undetected. Use only ATMs that are located inside the banks.

[advocate]

This seems to be a specialty for East European criminals. They pop up from time in different countries, often Romanians and Bulgarians. Not too long ago the Thai Police caught a few red handed.
Best advice: Don't use open-air ATMs as they can more easily be tampered with undetected. Use only ATMs that are located inside the banks.

Lung Per: Good advice to use the ATM inside the bank only. Thanks!

[Roel]

At 7-11, tried to use the card, wouldn't give me my 20,000 Bt but took it out of my account. My foreign bank said the Thai bank insisted I had gotten the money. I think the Thai bank is involved in some of the scams.

I do not think this is a way for any Thai bank to do business and they are surely NOT involved. Surely they suffer a dishonest employee every now and then causing incidental damage (as can and does happen in any business) but there is certainly not a scheme where accounts are structurally credited but money not paid out. I remember seeing a YouTube video which showed some criminals using a small metal strip that kept the money in place. The strip was hardly visible and after the victim left it was removed with the money. So surely the ATM register shows the money has been paid out, but it does not show WHO took it. Go to your bank and ask if you can have a look at the CCTV to see who was the next user after you left. They must have been there already because if the money is not taken out within a certain time frame the ATM is programmed to take it back.

[usual suspect]

My little piece of advice to anyone reading this is DO NOT use the ATM at the 7/11 on Soi Bintabaat.
... I sit almost opposite during the day with coffee-in-hand and witness Farangs having problems with that machine nearly everyday! These are problems 'on-site'..before any fraudulent misdemeanors come into the equation.

[tuppence]

this is aglobal issue not confined to HH or Thailand. Cards getting cloned in Dubai and used in Ho Chi Min city and Manila on the same day. Good practice indicated by those above, use bank machines, internally if possible, cover your pin, keep your card close to your testicles when you walk around.