ATMs
Continued from Page 1
machine.
"I characterize tin* Connecti
cut Ini ident as a fluke The
chances of that happening again
are very, very small." said
Ronald H Reed, senior vice
president for Plus System lm: in
i)enver, one of the nation’s
largest ATM networks
Sean Kennedy, president of
the Flectronu Funds Transfer
Assoc intion. n trade group in
Herndon. Va . agreed "There
isn't much ATM fraud right now
that people are aware of There's
probably a potential for a proh
lent, hut in ac tual practice it's
not a widespread, industrywide
problem
Statistics on ATM-related
losses are hard to < ome by
Industry experts sa\ there's no
central tracking system among
the ATM networks mainly
because each reported theft is
relatively small, usually totaling
less than 51,000
In many crises, they say, fraud
is committed by a relative or
companion of the hank cus
tomer
Fvfin in the Connecticut c ase,
which authorities are calling
one of the more ingenious
frauds, tlu- total take is still con
sidered well below what thieves
can run up from eac h stolen or
counterfeit credit card
Hv the end of May. $115,000
hud been stolen in about one
month's time front several
accounts using ATMs in Vir
ginia. North Carolina. Georgia.
Florida. Maryland and Ne\s
York, said Secret Service spec ial
agent Don Man hitello, who is
heading the investigation of the
(‘.oitnec tic ut fraud.
"It was one of the most innov
ative, sophistic ated, high-tec h
s< homes I've ever seen." Mar
c hitello said
The bogus ATM temporarily
stationed at the Hukland Hills
Mall in Manc hester. Conn., gave
nothing but apologetic rec eipts
that said no transactions were
possible, all the w hile collecting
the set ret I’INs of hundreds of
lumk c ards. The thieves used the
PIN's a safeguard of the sts
lent — along with counterfeit
cards to gain access to the
ac c mints
Hut Marc hitello said the wide
spread public 11\ surrounding
the case lias helped limit losses
"People who had gone to the
phony ATM machine didn't
It's been an eye
opener to the
industryt to say the
least.'
Boris F Melmkotf,
Atlanta hank executive
wait until tht'ir mi omits wore
compromised to notify their
Iwnks And the banks right nwav
fill* ked the m (.mints and issued
new cards." he said
Melmkoff said his hank,
VV'm hovin Corp . confiscated at
least one of the counterfeit cards
at an Atlanta brunch.
Finnnn ml institutions have, in
fact, built a number of anti
crime dev ices into the A I M sv s
tern to prevent customers from
seeing their sav ings disappear,
such as placing daily limits on
the amount of an ATM with
drawal or notifying customers if
their ATM activity deviates from
an established pattern
Although financial institu
tions usually absorb the losses,
bank customers are legally liable
for only the first $50 ill losses as
long as they notify their banks
within two business days of the
loss of their ATM cards
Hut they could conceivably
lose their entire ac< mints if the
bank isn’t notified within l>0
days from the time it mails the
monthly statement that shows
the first unauthorized with
drawal
Until recently, the main con
cerns in ATM security were in
preventing muggings of bank
customers. Several institutions
have installed elaborate alarm
systems, and at least two states
— New York and California
hove written laws mandating
A TM safety measure
The industry also has spent
millions of dollars developing
encryption systems that scram
ble the data traveling across the
wire eai h time n i ustomer uses
an ATM
In fact, the let hnology exists
to make it virtually impossible
for anybody but the cardholder
to w ithdraw money from his or
her account For instance,
machines could tie programmed
to i hei k identification on the
basis of fingerprints, handprints
or even retina. Melnikoff said
"(Hut) the losses would not
justify that type of expenditure
at this particular time." he said
QUESTION:
What was the dumbest thing you’ve
ever seen happen on this campus?
“Last
weekend
those
religious
fanatics
rambling
on at the
EMU. That was really
dumb.”
BILL SHORT
junior, Japanese
; "I was rid
I ing my
bike and I
hit anoth
er guy
head-on.
We were
going about 20 mph
and we both laid on the
ground for 10 minutes."
CHRIS LANE
graduate, math
“My R.A.
He’s just
ugly, stu
pid and
gross."
JESSA EAQAN
freshman, pre-faw
“I got
back
from
spring
break to
find my
room
filled from floor to ceil
ing with newspaper
and computer paper.
My R.A. did it."
ROBB SCHREIBER
senior, psychology
"Lately it
has to be
the Masat
thing.
That they
would
kick him
off because they didn t
think he belonged.”
QLENN HARRIS
junior, biology
“I saw a !
bunch of !
fraternity
guys
standing
on a hill
in the
EMU Courtyard
naked."
SARAH SIMMONS
freshman, undecided
ATM hints for reducing fraud
(AP) — Some safeguards for
prutei ting against ATM-related
losses:
•Sells t your "PIN" i arefufh
Don’t um* obvious personal
identification numbers such ns
birtlidates or the first few digits
of a driver’s license or home
telephone number. They're
often found in wallets and purs
es and usually the first to lie
tried by ATM-using thieves
•Keep your PIN set ret If you
don’t have the number memo
rized. try to put it in a safe plat e
outside your wallet or purse
Never write it on the AlTd card
• Take precautions before
using an A IM Don’t start a
transaction if you feel uncom
fortable with vour surroundings
Suspicious individuals hanging
around a machine or spotted
with binoculars or viduo cam
eras nearby should be reported
to authorities
Take precautions after using
ATM customers’ liability
Under the Electronic Funds Transfer Act of 107H. ATM cus
tomers are liable for the following in cases of unauthorized
transactions:
•The first sr.o in losses if they notify their banks within two
business days of the disappearance of their ATM card.
• Up to $500 if they fail to meet the two-day limit, but only if
the bank can prove they knew of the c ard's loss or theft and
failed to report it
• The entire account and credit line potentially could bo
wiped out if the bank isn't notified within fiO days of the date
it mails out the monthly statement that shows the first unau
thorized withdrawal.
an ATM Thai means rvmemlicr
ing to take vour card with you
and properly disposing of the
transaction receipt later on.
Some clever (.rooks have been
able to gain access to an A I M by
using the account number found
on the receipt
• Keep careful watch of your
hank statement. Unauthorized
ATM transactions should be
reported to the hank as soon us
possible m order to limit your
potential liabilities. A lost or
stolen bank card also should be
reported at once.
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