Tips on Protecting Consumers from ATM FraudPresentation at the 5th Lagos Consumer Forum on Tuesday 30 March 2010

Facts about ATM FraudThere has been a recent increase in ATM

frauds globally due to the recent financial crisis.

BankInfoSecurity Publication reports that ATM fraud or “skimming” is expected to be among the top forms of fraud that banking customers will face in 2010.

ATMs at public places like Stores, Restaurants, Airports and isolated places are at higher risk of being compromised

Over 90% of fraud incidences happen between Friday night and 8am on Monday

What Banks can do? Establish a 24-hour Call Centre Upgrade Software to monitor consumer transaction

patterns and flag irregularities Can Banks introduce the ‘Credit’ option when paying at POS

terminals with Debit cards? Upgrade ATM systems to have additional security levels like

biometrics identification or a secondary level of verification before dispensing cash e.g. verification code

Re-evaluate the criteria for citing ATM machines and blacklist those with repeated hits.

Introduce preloaded cards for POS transactions to minimize instances when direct access to consumer accounts occur.

Consumer Education◦ PIN Choice and Protection◦ How to identify suspicious activity around ATM locations◦ What to do immediately consumers discover fraud.

What Can Regulators Do?Mandate Banks to establish a 24-hr Call Centre able

to respond to emergencies on ATM Fraud Can the banks be made to bear some liability for

lost funds? E.g. The U.S Federal law limits consumer liability to $50 if consumers report fraud within 72 hrs.

Can banks be insured against fraud to protect consumer funds?

CBN should establish a Consumer Protection Directorate to represent consumer interests in banking

Direct all Banks and Switching Companies to commence on a generic mass awareness campaign to educate consumers on the risks of e-banking

What Can Consumers Do?PIN ProtectionMemorize your personal identification number

(PIN). Never write it down on your ATM card or keep it with the card.

Never tell anyone your code or let them enter your code for you.

Never use easy numbers like 1234 or 5555 as your PIN. Fraudsters will try those first. Also avoid Birthdays, Anniversaries, your children’s birthday, etc

If you can, change your PIN often so you can deflect any planned ‘hit’

Consumer Tips...Online ProtectionDo not give out information about your PIN over the

telephone or in any e-mail —banks will never request such information.

Any e-mail threatening to cut off access to your account due to some irregularity after a deadline is NOT from a legitimate source. Delete it!

Be careful of using your ATM card to make purchases on the internet. If you must, look for security symbols before using it. Alternately, use preloaded online specific cards.

Don’t use your Debit Card on public computers like cyber cafes

Get a powerful and effective anti virus or spyware installed on your PC to detect malware and phishing software

Consumer Tips...Environment Protection Try to use machines you are familiar with, and use terminals

located in banks rather than independent terminals. Be aware of your surroundings. Look around before

conducting a transaction. If you see anyone or anything suspicious, cancel your transaction and go to another ATM.

Be wary of anything about the ATM machine that looks out of the ordinary, such as odd-looking equipment or wires attached to the device.

Steer clear of a jammed ATM machine that forces customers to use another ATM that might have a skimmer attached. Often, the criminal will disable other ATMs in the area to draw users to the one that has the skimming device on it.

Use your body or hands as a shield when making a transaction at the ATM.

If you must use an ATM after hours, make sure it's well lighted.

Consumer Protection TipsGeneral Protection

Report any lost or stolen cards as soon as you discover they're missing.

Find out from your bank what number to call in case of emergency and store it on your phone

Check your receipts against your monthly statements to guard against ATM fraud.

Always take your ATM receipts from the machine and tear them when you no longer need them.

Don’t take an ATM card if you don’t need one. You have the right to refuse it even on savings account.

Open two accounts one with ATM access and another without. Keep most of your money in the account without ATM access and move money to the ATM account as when needed to limit how much access a fraud hit on your ATM can have.