02 December, 2006
Nasty moment of the day
Yesterday a colleague sent me a Powerpoint slideshow about ATM fraud using the Lebanese loop, complete with CCTV stills of the scam in action. So I was musing about this and banking security in general while drawing out some money this morning. That little moment of uncertainty and tension when you wonder if the machine is actually going to disgorge your card passed without incident.
Then the receipt emerged. I glanced at the receipt, sanity-checking the balance as I customarily do, only to find that I was several thousand pounds short. Not only that, I had seemingly acquired a substantial overdraft facility. Shock! Panic! Had my account been raided? Was my hard-earned moolah already on its way to Romania? As I began to examine the receipt more closely I glanced at the ATM again. A second receipt had appeared. An altogether more welcome one. Clearly the previous customer's receipt had got stuck in the machine and mine had pushed it out.
Phew! They say an occasional adrenalin hit is good for the system.
Then the receipt emerged. I glanced at the receipt, sanity-checking the balance as I customarily do, only to find that I was several thousand pounds short. Not only that, I had seemingly acquired a substantial overdraft facility. Shock! Panic! Had my account been raided? Was my hard-earned moolah already on its way to Romania? As I began to examine the receipt more closely I glanced at the ATM again. A second receipt had appeared. An altogether more welcome one. Clearly the previous customer's receipt had got stuck in the machine and mine had pushed it out.
Phew! They say an occasional adrenalin hit is good for the system.
# posted by Edwin Greenwood @ 11:41 
