Sticky-fingered Guangzhou thieves use glue to con ATM users
Staff Reporter
2015-07-30
A police officer in Xuchang, Henan province shows members of the public how to avoid getting caught out by ATM scams, Sept. 7, 2013. (Photo/CFP)
A scam involving the use of glue to target ATM users in Guangzhou has been exposed, according to our Chinese-language sister paper Want Daily.
The scammers prevent ATM users from retrieving their card or cash from the machine by filling the slots up with glue. Panicked customers then call an emergency number posted on the ATM by the scammers, allowing them to cheat the users out of money.
A police officer at the scene of a targeted cash machine stated that closed circuit footage was discovered showing two men loitering around the ATM in the early morning. "The two men took some instant glue and double-sided sticky tape. One of them spread glue on the cash dispenser, while the other taped up the fake telephone hotline," the police representative stated. As the two men were acting suspiciously they drew attention and were arrested.
The notice the scam artists had taped to the ATM read, "If your card or cash is eaten, please immediately contact our customer service center to report any losses. If losses are not reported immediately, customers will have to bear full responsibility! The 24-hour customer hotline is: 28109761." The police officer stated that even though the notice was overly wordy and had been badly printed, people had still fallen for the con, which has also targeted other ATMs in Guangzhou. A Guangzhou resident surnamed Zhong was conned into transferring his savings into a "safe account" by the scam artists, causing him losses of 28,658 yuan (US$4,614).
Other ATM scams include scanning cards with a device posing as a card scanner to give people access to the buildings where the machines are located or installing a fake number pad on the ATM which can read users' information. Other thieves hit customers over the head with bricks or heavy objects just as they are about to withdraw their money from the machine and then steal it.
Banks have advised customers to use ATMs during the day and in crowded places. If one needs to use an ATM at night, they suggest using one in a convenience store to avoid danger. If one's card gets swallowed by an ATM, they advise to stay beside the machine. As long as the cash stays inside the machine, it will be returned to the account in question.
