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OK, this is not some urban legend. We all know there are a lot of fake things produced in China, from milk powder to Gucci bags -- but fake ATMs? We found this on the China Merchants Bank forum (in Chinese), if you Google "fake ATM" ("假冒atm") you will find out this post is now in every major Chinese forum, such as tom.com (well, not every major forum).
This looks pretty normal right?
But in fact, there is a card reader hidden inside, so when you insert your bank card, it will copy EVERYTHING.
This pamphlet holder looks pretty normal, too.
But is it really as innocent as it looks?
Someone installs this pamphlet holder, which contains a mini camera, beside the ATM machine, and your password of your bank card can be copied without breaking a sweat.
In other news, there was a crime reported by Zhejiang TV in early April that is quite disturbing: A Chinese guy was mugged, beaten and killed in three seconds when he was trying to take cash out of an ATM. You can see the video here.
Maybe we'll stick to online banking and shopping from now on.
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This is not exactly new - and is actually extremely uncommon (but it does happen).
The images above aren't taken from an ATM in China - they are actually from one discovered in Brazil back in 2004.
Have a look at the article below - its quite informative.
http://www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/atmcamera.asp
The bottom line is to use caution or a smart card enabled ATM card & machine for maximum security.
we should inform our girlfriends then :-)
Actually the fake ATM thing is not as disturbing as the footage of the mugging and killing. Seems it happened pretty darned close in Hangzhou. So for those who have let their guard down be REALLY careful.