Posts tagged Atm at Switched

Posts with tag atm

Send Cash Through an ATM Using New ATMSend Service

by Kaiser Hwang, posted Nov 12th 2008 at 4:02PM

Money makes the world go 'round. The problem is, how to get money 'round the world. Sure, there's always Western Union or MoneyGram, but if you ask us, that requires just one step too many. A Charlotte, North Carolina-based company, Privier Inc, hopes to have an easier, and more accessible, solution.

The company's service, dubbed ATMSend, would allow a user to send cash to another user for pickup. What sweetens the deal here is that neither the sender nor the receiver would require a bank account at the participating bank, or at all. All that's required is that the sender verify their identity by registering a cell phone. Once the cash is ready for transfer, the sender would input their registered number into the ATM, wait for a text message with an authorization code, and then send the receiver the authorization code for pickup.

Depending on the participating banks' fee (if any at all), ATMSend could even be a cost-saving alternative to services such as PayPal, which takes a cut from certain transactions. Sending money sans a bank account is sure to be valuable for a number of people, though we're a little worried about the possible ways this could be beneficial to evildoers. [From: MarketWatch]

Citibank/7-Eleven ATMs Infiltrated, PINs Stolen

by Tim Stevens, posted Jul 3rd 2008 at 10:35AM

So you follow your bank's advice to the letter when it comes to ATM security: You don't let someone snoop over your shoulder why you're using it, you don't stand there to count your cash immediately after withdrawal, and, most importantly, you've chosen a PIN that isn't "1234."

Good for you, you're doing your part. Sadly, though, it seems that Citibank, and two companies that operate thousands of its ATMs, are not doing their's. Somehow hackers have found a way to infiltrate those ATMs and steal the PIN numbers of anyone who used them.

The automatic tellers affected are the Citi-branded ones found at 7-Eleven stores. These machines -- of which there are 5,700 in total -- are operated by Cardtronics Inc. and Fiserv Inc. The machines themselves were not affected, but it seems that both companies failed to encrypt PINs that were transmitted from the ATM to their central computers, so once the hackers were able to access those central servers, they were able to grab numbers without any hassle.

It's unclear just how they gained access to those supposedly secure central computers or how many bank accounts were compromised, but Citibank is taking steps to send new debit cards to those whose PINs, regardless of how complex, were stolen. Maybe it's time for you to ask your bank just how secure their ATM interactions are. [Source: AP]

Line Extends Around the Block For ATM That Pays Double

by Tim Stevens, posted Mar 20th 2008 at 3:17PM

If a bank's automatic teller machine was malfunctioning and spitting out extra cash, what would you do? Call the bank and let them know of the error, or just hurry up and get in line? According to the Daily Mail, dozens of Brits chose the latter, queuing up outside a local convenience store when it was discovered that the ATM machine on the curb was paying out twice what people had requested.

Usually £300 (about $600) is the limit a British ATM machine will pay out, but this one was happy to pay out up to £600 all the while only debiting half that against the users' accounts. As word of the generous ATM spread, the line lengthened until the machine, at last completely spent, stopped giving up the goods.

You might think that these users will surely see an extra withdrawal applied to their accounts later to make up for the discrepancy, but there's actually a chance these folks may get off without paying extra, all because the banks may just decide that it's not worth the hassle to track down the offenders.

Here's to corporate efficiency!

From The Daily Mail

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Surprise! ATMs Are Covered In Germs

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Feb 6th 2008 at 2:47PM

CBS 2 in Los Angeles apparently ran out of things to report this week -- we guess they're bored of Super Tuesday, the Super Bowl, and war -- and jumped on a timeless "look how gross this is" story by swabbing Q-Tips on a bunch of ATMs, a piece of machinery that we all come in contact with on a regular basis. Not that this is much of a shock, but after sending the swabs to a lab, the investigators discovered that the ATMs were filthy. Of the 20 ATMs tested in the Los Angeles area, 17 were positive for some type of bacteria.

Most of the bacteria found was fairly common and not particularly dangerous, but some were covered in moraxella catarrhalis, a bacteria capable of causing everything from ear infections to meningitis, or rothia, which is common in our nose and mouth....we're still wondering how that got on there.

One useful discovery the investigative team made was that ATMs with chrome or metal buttons were less likely to hold on to bacteria.

So, if you're a bit of a hypochondriac you might want to avoid ATMs with plastic buttons or touch screens. In the meantime, stay tuned for the next sensationalist story here, as we're just as guilty as CBS 2 when it comes to covering the ol' "look how many germs are on this everyday object" story.

From CBS 2

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Children's Toy Bank Uses ATM Cards and Touch Screen

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Oct 15th 2007 at 5:29PM

If you were worried that your child wasn't being trained to be a good economic citizen, then check out this toy to make sure he or she grows up learning the value of plastic. The Children's Touch Screen ATM Bank comes with a card and a PIN for your tyke to manage an account of up to $999.99. The bank accepts bills of all kinds and coins.

Some of you probably hope that this little gizmo will teach your kid the value of a dollar. It's more likely he or she will just learn that there's a machine that gives them money anytime they put their card in it. We're waiting for "Baby's First Massive Credit Card Debt Simulator" to hit the market.

From Shiny Shiny

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Haywire ATM Spits Out Free Cash

by Tom Conlon, posted Aug 24th 2007 at 11:23AM

Earlier this week, a particular ATM machine in Queenstown, NZ, suddenly became the city's hottest hangout, with lines of up to 20 people formed around it at all times of the day and night. Had this machine temporarily suspended those annoying ATM fees for a day? No, even better: It was accidentally spitting out $20 bills instead of $10 bills.

A contractor hired to maintain the machine had accidentally mixed up the ATM's internal boxes, putting 20s in the 10s box and vice versa. When a taxi driver saw giant lines for the ATM at four in the morning, he alerted police, who notified the bank.

Many an unscrupulous New Zealander got away with free money, while some guilt-ridden folks actually returned the extra cash the next day. Some were less fortunate. Since the 20s and 10s were mixed up, those who had requested $20 bills were accidentally shortchanged by half.

Nearly this exact same thing happened just last month at a Louisiana truck stop, when a machine spat out $20 bills instead of fives, doling out a total of $7,000 extra to some 26 people who police claimed they were able to identify and track down.

And, not too long ago, a young man in Virginia Beach was caught on surveillance camera making repeated trips to a gas station ATM. This guy had figured out how to override the ATM's normal operations by simply punching a code into the keypad. He fooled this machine into thinking it too was giving out fives when it was really giving out 20s.

But a 2005 story out of Oslo, Norway takes the cake. Two men running a recycling company were contracted by a bank to remove an ATM from a gas station -- only the bank had forgotten to take all of its money out of the ATM first. Sadly for the two men, the mix up was quickly discovered and the money returned. Though they didn't disclose how much their temporary windfall had earned them, the men had apparently stepped into enough free dough to buy a new home and take an expensive vacation.

So much for finders keepers...

From TG Daily

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ATM 'Giving Kiosks' Arrive in Churches

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Aug 7th 2007 at 2:20PM

Everyone's gotta change with the times, including religious faiths, and we're not talking about same-sex marriage here. We're talking about plastic. Cash has been on the outs with the American public for a while now. Some Americans don't even bother to carry any at this point, and churches are trying to keep pace. Many now accept credit cards or automatic bank transfers for donations.

Dr. Marty Baker, pastor of Stevens Creek Community Church in Augusta, Georgia, has taken electronic donations to a new level by developing an ATM-like kiosk where his congregation can swipe and give on their way in or out of church.

The system was so successful -- boosting charitable donations by 18 percent since its installation -- that he started marketing them to other congregations. Dr. Baker has now placed his "Giving Kiosks" in 35 churches across the nation, with plenty of others showing interest in the device.

New IRS rules that go into effect in 2007 requiring all charitable donations under $250 to be documented. These kiosks will turn out to be life savers as they produce an easy-to-follow paper trail.

However, some people can't get over the bizarre and perhaps disconcerting notion of ATMs in our churches. There are very few bastions from our connected consumer world left, and we're already losing planes.

From Consumerist

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