Have you ever felt somehow uncomfortable when using an ATM because someone is standing rather too close? If so, you are not alone and the feeling is not abnormal; it is human especially now that we have lesser daylight.
There is a growing trend of something called “shoulder surfing” where opportunistic criminals attempt to obtain your personal details by just ‘looking’ when you are using the ATM. To avoid becoming part of the crime statistics, there are some precautions you need to be taking every time you use the ATM:
- Always keep your card out of sight until you need it. Don’t give criminals time to ‘prepare’ for you.
- Stand close to the machine and don’t let anyone see you enter the PIN. Shield the keypad, if necessary.
- Even at checkouts shield the keypad against prying eyes.
- If anyone (suspicious looking or not) gets too close while you are using the machine, cancel the transaction and politely ask for our SPACE back.
- If you run into difficulty while using the machine, don’t accept help from strangers and don’t let anyone distract you – they may be after your PIN, card or both!!
- When you have finished your transactions, put your card and money out of sight immediately before you leave the machine. This will free you to become aware of your surroundings quickly.
A little precaution here and there can’t hurt you. Its all part of money management.
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