# Visa debit card skimmed... Bank account = 0



## ando (15 Nov 2012)

Hey,

My visa debit/laser card got done last Sunday. ATM skimming device.  10 transactions to betting sites of about €250 each went onto my current account last Saturday night @ half 3 in the morning, leaving me with an account of € -900... ANY money I put into my account now is held as collateral against the -900 ... so effectively making my account useless.

Anyway, through a number of small disasters getting forms and signatures from Garda members etc, the fraud section of Permanent TSB only got the forms yesterday morning regarding the reporting and refunding of the charges on my account. My stupid local branch lost the forms I filled in on Monday, losing me two days... anyway that’s another story.  

Anyone know how long it takes for the money to be refunded into my account? This is a BIG pain. I’m struggling to survive with the little cash I have in my wallet at the moment... and direct debit payments are failing due to nothing in the account!

Thanks


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## demoivre (15 Nov 2012)

Was skimmed on a Saturday on a BOI account at a BOI ATM - was refunded the following Wednesday. No issues with payments out of the account and the bank was sound about the whole thing ( I'm no fan of banks !! ). Would Perm TSB not give you a temporary overdraft facility to get you through the next few days?


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## Cents&Sense (10 Dec 2012)

I had three fraudulent withdrawals in the total amount of c. €700 on my BOI Visa Debit card last Weds/Thurs. BOI fraud Investigation Unit (FIU) phoned me to ask about the "unusual activity" that had come to their attention on my account - namely 3 ATM Cash withdrawals in the USA. They asked was I in the USA making withdrawals (I wasn't) and they cancelled my debit card. 

I reported the event to Gardai and made a statement for record purposes and I have sent my Visa Debit card to BOI FIU.

I am hoping that I will be reimbursed the full amount without delay. I presume my card was skimmed at an Irish ATM.

I note Ando had forms to fill out from Perm TSB - BOI didn't mention anything about submitting forms. I asked BOI for a temporary overdraft on Friday but today (Monday) they have refused!!

I would be grateful for any information.


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## demoivre (18 Dec 2012)

A bit more detail of my experience with skimming. 

I went to withdraw cash at my local BOI ATM in Wexford on a Saturday afternoon and got a message saying I had exceeded my daily withdrawal allowance which was €700. I didn't really give it much thought as I felt it was just a glitch with the machine or, as it was a joint account, maybe the missus had made an earlier cash withdrawal. 

Anyway when I got back home a few hours later and found that it wasn't my wife I went on line to check the situation. Two withdrawals had been made on the Friday, one of €200 and one of €300  and then one of €700 on the Saturday morning, none of which were ours. 

I rang BOI credit card section because I couldn't find any other number on the BOI website that I thought would be useful on the weekend. They cancelled the card immediately and told me to contact the guards and the local BOI branch on Monday. 

I told the guards that evening, who didn't inspire me with their optimism about catching the culprits.

On the Monday morning the local BOI crowd told me to come in and sign a form confirming the withdrawals were not ours and that several customers had reported suspicious activity on their accounts over the weekend.  I did this on the Tuesday morning - as it happens the fraudsters made the withdrawals from different ATMs in Dublin. 

When I was signing the form i told the bank official that there would be a cheque and  a few DDs coming through and I assumed that that wouldn't be a problem - she said it wouldn't and I left it at that - didn't have any savings with BOI but have had an account with them for 20 + years . The money was credited back into our account the next day. 

I had a couple of subsequent pointless phone conversations with a few detectives giving the same information that I had originally given to the guard on duty when I first reported  the problem on the Saturday night. It turns out the fraudsters had done the skimming several weeks before at the ATM but hadn't actually used the card information until the weekend when the money was taken from our account.


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## Cents&Sense (2 Jan 2013)

*UPDATE POST:*

I received a full refund lodged directly to my account on 31/12/12 and I didn't have to make a claim or fill out any forms etc. 

I believe the key to this was the fact that I made a statement to my local Gardai and wrote to my Bank by letter and told them that I had done so.


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## Brendan Burgess (2 Jan 2013)

This is very interesting.

They seem to be making refunds pretty promptly. 

How are the skimmers getting the pin numbers?


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## mathepac (2 Jan 2013)

The skimming device may include a video camera recording the keypad activity.

I have been told that the PIN is also recorded on the card and gets captured but that sounds crazy

I've also been told that the PIN can be intercepted and recorded electronically but that sounds crazy as it would mean disassembling the ATM to access the internal circuitry.

My own favourite notion is to have a keypad mounted over the ATM keypad that makes physical contact with the ATM keypad to transmit the presses to the ATM and also records the key-presses electronically onto the skimming device.


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## michaelm (4 Jan 2013)

The PIN is not on the card.  If the skimmer is lurking that could perhaps record the pin entry on a mobile phone camera.  

My own debit card was used online (not skimmed) before Christmas.  I was on to it straight away and had the money back within two weeks.  Given that it was used to top-up a mobile phone and to pay for a west-link toll, one wouldn't have to be Sherlock Holmes to catch the culprit.  That said, I'm sure it won't be followed up.


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## moonman (7 Jan 2013)

i  i saw on rte 's crimeline a few weeks ago an item re skimming.  on the device they showed on the programme ,the skimmer had a camera ,and the advice from both the garda and the banks was to cover the keypad while one is inputting the number.


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## Time (7 Jan 2013)

The PIN is actually stored in the chip but it is very difficult to get any info from the chip itself.


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## Sandals (26 Sep 2013)

Just got phonecall from BOI re transactions on our account. Transactions purchased in GB. Card skimmed was more than likely the cause. Unfort never asked about money refund or no mention about the Gardai. started off at 66cent up to just under €500 each time.


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## amtc (27 Sep 2013)

I got my card skimmed - money refunded next day (BOI)

Also took money out of BOI Liffey Street Dublin - 200 euro fake 50s, refunded (bit embarrassing as was paying on blind date - never saw him again!)

On a funnier note, am joint holder on my mam's credit card and she was trying to pay in a casino in Australia - they couldn't get through to her, so rang me! I authorised it....she won in the casino!


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## Mrs Vimes (27 Sep 2013)

I saw a programme on BBC a while back where they said that how the debit card machines work (don't know if it's the same for ATM) is that the machine "asks" the card whether the pin was correct.

In the show they went to a bookshop and asked a customer to allow them to use his card to pay for his book. Then they checked with him that his pin wasn't 0000, tampered with the machine and input 0000. The sale went through because the machine had been programmed to always "hear" yes from the card.


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