Bad Bank Security Practices Plus Phishing Creates Easy ATM Fraud

from the security-through-stupidity dept

Banks always like to talk up all of their security efforts to keep you from getting scammed out of your money. However, it seems like they often leave the simplest security measures out. That's become quite clear following a new report discussing the rapid rise in ATM fraud recently. The problem is from a combination of two factors: many banks don't do ATM security properly combined with the rise in phishing scams. The phishing scam part is obvious. One of the popular scams is to get people to fill out their bank ATM and PIN information. However, that shouldn't be an issue because ATM cards are supposed to have additional security features on the magnetic stripe to prove that the card really is the one issued by the bank. Unfortunately, many banks have decided not to do that security check, and instead will assume that as long as you have the right account number and a valid PIN, you must be legit. That makes it quite easy for scammers who phish your details to make a fake ATM card that works without any problem at all. It's hard to understand what would make a bank cut such a corner. It's not expensive to check the codes on the ATM, and yet, many banks chose not to -- and simply assumed that this would never be a problem. Instead, it is a problem -- and a fairly big one for some banks and its customers.