Criminals continue to exploit any excuse to steal data and money. Recently, the National Police has warned about the development of a new method known as ‘contactless scam‘, in which criminals try to trick users, usually the elderly, into stealing their money when they are trying to use an ATM.
The fraud it doesn’t have too much mystery. In this case, the criminals disable the physical card entry slots in ATMs with the aim that users have to resort to the ‘contactless’ reader, so common when making purchases and which has been present in this type of business for some time. of devices.
Although this type of tool is quite safe, according to cybersecurity experts, criminals are using it as an excuse to steal from users without their knowledge.
This is how the scam works
The criminals remain close to the ATM, and wait for the user to see that they cannot insert the card to Approach and offer your help. While one of the criminals tries to distract the victim, the other resorts to the ‘contactless’ system while the other person, who has the card in his possession, takes the opportunity to make refunds that can reach 1,500 euros. The Police affirm that they have already arrested two people in Granada for using this type of scam.
Social engineering is one of the most used tools by the cybercrime in their campaigns aimed at stealing money. Both online and in real life. The ideal thing to do in the event that a user encounters a problem at an ATM, and suddenly a person appears offering their help to solve it, is to be wary.
In this way, if someone approaches while you are withdrawing money, the ideal is not to accept their help. If you find that the card slot is blocked, and you don’t want to resort to ‘contactless’, the best thing you can do is go find another ATM.