Fake ATMs in China

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.