Sophisticated Crooks

2. Sophisticated Crooks Posted by: "FixOakland@aol.com" FixOakland@aol.com fixoakland

Date: Thu Apr 22, 2010 4:23 pm ((PDT)

Unfortunately, advances in technology, coupled with cost cuts by banks, have made it easier for sophisticated crooks to use ATM and even credit cards.Here is how they do it:The personal identification number is the key. Once you have the card number on a debit or credit card, all you have to do is call the bank customer service number. If you punch in the card number and PIN, the automated system gives you the account balance. Go to the nearest ATM (of any bank, not necessarily the bank issuing the card), and use the PIN to withdraw the maximum daily limit of cash — which can be as high as $1500 or more per day.Because most banks no longer have toll-free numbers to call, their computer system cannot capture caller ID from a blocked phone. If a toll-free number is called, even from a "blocked" phone, the caller's number is displayed to the receiving party, because that is who is paying for the call.And with the widespread installation of ATMs at bars, inside small stores and convenience stores, and even large stores like CVS at 51st. Broadway, a crook does not need to go to a bank. These small ATMs do not have surveillance cameras — which banks do.One solution would be to require ALL ATMs installed in Oakland to have a surveillance camera. Technology also exists where a thumbprint would be required to withdraw cash or conduct a transaction, but the cost of installing that in every ATM would be high. Banks also do not want to increase the "hassle" factor for customers using ATMs.A crime such as the one described here is not a "bank loss", even though it was an unauthorized use, because the bank was not negligent. If banks were held responsible for such losses, their cost-benefit analysis would be different — and they might opt for greater security and resultant expenses,

Sanjiv Handa,
East Bay News ServiceIn a message dated 4/22/10 1:13:08 AM,

PiedmontAve@yahoogroups.com writes:>
From a neighbor on Richmond Blvd.:> >
At 11:30pm on Wednesday night (4/14), I was robbed>
as I was getting out of my car. There were 2 men, one black,>
the other I did not see the face of. The black man is slender>
and about 6' tall, black hoodie drawn tightly over his face.>
The other guy I saw from behind, 5'7", 170 lbs. The taller>
man threatened to hurt me if I didn't face forward in my>
car, give him my wallet and give my atm pin. I did.>
That process took about 4 minutes, they used a handheld>
wireless device to do something with my atm card.>
They left quickly and I went in my house and cancelled>
my atm, visa etc. In the 5 minutes to accomplish that,>
$500 was withdrawn or transferred from the atm acct.> >
At first they misunderstood the pin I gave them which was correct.>
They got upset and threatened me and I repeated it...>
they had a real time 'read' on whether it was the correct number...>
keep this in mind if you are in the same situation.> >

They took my wallet and headed towards 30th on Richmond.>
Please keep an eye out for a brown wallet and a bunch of cards, etc.>

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