steal all your money from your credit cards- when you put your card into the machine

lonney,

This scam has been around for awhile and as george mentions, this occurs here as well. The thieves attach a card skimmer in front of the real ATM mechanism along with a small camera above to capture the PIN as it's entered. The camera can't usually be seen due to the way the ATM is mounted. The problem can be minimized to some extent by covering your hand when entering the PIN.

Lonney, are you just repeating something you heard or read or do you have some actual experience here. First, they cannot get all your money from a credit card. The most you would every lose on a credit card is $50 so that is not a major concern. A debit card is another matter that can create some other problems but again you personal lost is very limited. Second, if you go into the bank, they will not give you cash against your credit or debit card but send you back out to their ATM machine. Third, if there are skimmers attached to ATMs but they are detectable if you are alert. Go to Youtube for examples. Fourth, I always use an ATM attached to a bank during banking hours since these will almost never be tampered with. It is the stand along ATM that is the potential problem.

But given your poor grammar and spelling, I wonder if are an American from Chicago or someone just having fun with this site. Assume English is not your native language.

why would anybody put a CREDIT card in an ATM machine after being on this forum for more than a day?

I also know people who do that because they find it easier to manage their money using only one card. They don't have to keep up with the withdrawals from their account, just pay the CC bill.

It's crazy to me, but possibly better than the people I know who never balance their accounts.

As others have mentioned skimmers and cameras are a problem in the US as well. They are typically (but not always) attached to stand alone machines, although brick and mortar bank branches have been victimized as well. Some are very hard to notice I work at a bank and have seen them and some are pretty hard to detect.

As a precaution you should:
Use an ATM attached to a bank
Look at the card reader for a second before you put your card in, if it looks weird: if there is glue around the housing, housing is not flush with the ATM, use another ATM.

Cover your hand as you enter the numbers into the PIN pad.

Keep a phone number for your bank handy. If you are calling from overseas and not using a US cellphone you won't be able to use an 800 number. Look at the back of your card and write down the number.

If possible set up an alert to your phone so you get a text or email when a withdrawal is made. If you get notified of an unauthorized withdrawal contact your bank and arrange to have a new card sent to you.

A lot of people have more than one bank they can use for ATM access. If you don't want to tie up half of your money in one bank and half in another leave a check and deposit slip for each bank with a friend or family member so they can move money from one bank to another in case your ATM card is compromised or lost.

As others have said there is protection against fraud with ATMs and credit cards and your liability is limited but that's a cold bowl of chili when you're on vacation and can't get at your money!

I like to use my credit card to get cash out of ATM's because it isn't tied to my bank account, and while I would not be liable for money stolen from my debit card should skimming happen, I don't want to deal with the hassle connected to an account I pay my everyday bills out of.

One thing I would say for those who don't know and which I suggest to my customers (I too work at a bank), make sure you take more than 1 card/type with you so that if anything does happen and you get locked out of 1 of them because of fraud etc.... you still have something with which to get cash or make purchases.

If there's a ftf associated with using a credit card at an atm that could really get in you knickers.

However, you have to figure a banker knows the best way to work with money.

Banks don't do business with non-customers; they are not going to give you money at teller windows. It is somewhat more secure to use ATMs that are actually inside bank lobbies -- no guarantees though.

Agree with everything that has been said so far. There was a TV report here about skimmers so I wondered what they did look like and checked it out on the net. They are not all that easy to spot (one suggestion offered on the net which has not been mentioned so far is to see if the card slot wiggles as the skimmers are usually attached with just glue.) I try and follow the suggestions offered here, especially covering up when I enter my PIN and using ATMs at Banks (although the net articles I read said even some of them were compromised.) Never thought of using my credit card.... I have one with no foreign transaction fees so it would just be the usual charges and a small fee for "borrowing" money for the length of my trip. I will consider that.

As another answer to the "who uses credit cards in ATMs abroad" question, my employer's official policy on how to get foreign cash on work trips is to use your company credit card in an ATM over there. Clearly not financially efficient, but it means they don't have to reimburse me through pay.

That may not be true. Corporate credit cards are generally handle in a very different way with different policies and procedures than the standard civilian credit card. I am guessing your corporate card was pulling from a predetermined line of credit so the fees are the same or fixed for how the card is used.

A couple of years ago, an employee of my local bank branch went out and found a skimming device attached to the drive up ATM. So, now the card slot has a parrot's beak attached to it. Hard to attach anything more.

Several times in Germany, I have found the ATMs in lobbies that require the ATM card to enter.

"Assume English is not your native language." Maybe English is, but not American. No body here spells it programme.

Note: "English" is an obscure dialect of the American language, spoken by only a few million people on a minor island in the Atlantic.

My goodness what passes for news!

I had my card skimmed and scammed a few years ago.

Here, in safe old Victoria B.C. Canada .

I use an ATM machine all the time in Europe, I prefer to use it at an ATM machine attached to an open bank, just in case it gets eaten. Never had a problem yet though( and been using my debit card,to withdraw cash for last 15 years at least.)

Have I heard wrong that if your credit card has a chip (like European cards do) it is next to impossible to skim the card?

As to who would use one in an ATM, me. Hubby was frantic b/c he was low on currency & I took the credit card to the ATM. I had made note of the pin # when I opened the envelope. A one-time deal before we had an ATM card.