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Hoping for a mistake, I requested a statement of my balance from the bank. All my expenses were confirmed: it turned out that money really had disappeared from my account. Moreover, in a strange way: the same amounts, to the dollar, were withdrawn almost simultaneously. The bank told me that I had been robbed and that the money could not be returned. Is this really true and have I lost a significant sum? Please explain how this could have happened?”
As consultant Olga Alekseeva explains, in Southeast Asian countries one often encounters such fraud. You are brought a poorly printed receipt so that you don't notice that the amount on it is several times larger. And you sign it without looking into the details. Or you come to a store where, looking at the naive and smiling face of the saleswoman, you don't even think that she might cheat you. Meanwhile, she (or he), after 'swiping' the card, withdraws the necessary amount and goes to the next cash register to withdraw it again.
However, let's be fair: this kind of fraud can be encountered in any country in the world. There are thousands of ways to take money off a credit card without the owner's knowledge. For example, by placing your own keypad over the ATM keypad, which will remember all operations performed with the card, including the PIN code. Then the card might get stuck, it could be stolen, or even just taken by force. And then calmly withdraw your money. So be careful, especially when using ATMs that stand alone on the street in some quiet alley.
Nearby there may be a miniature video camera aimed at the keypad to capture the moment when the PIN code is entered. The camera's owners are nearby and react instantly: before you can even look around, burly fellows will push you away from the ATM and take your money. To protect yourself from such treachery, try to cover the keypad from above, for example, with a newspaper.
Also be careful if a credit card gets stuck. Try to call the bank that owns the ATM without leaving it for long. You should be wary of all sorts of helpers who start giving advice on how to get the ill-fated card out. Especially if they suggest entering some combinations or the PIN code on the keypad.
Also do not forget a simple rule: no one should come close and try to look over your shoulder when you are withdrawing money. This is the 'cheapest' way to find out the PIN code. And the most common. It works especially well in southern countries, where people are open, sociable, spontaneous, and may very sincerely come closer to you and ask something, while also peeking at the numbers you enter.
So the best and most reliable option is to withdraw money from ATMs located right inside a bank branch: if anything happens, help will come immediately.