Beware Of Bangkok Bank Atm'S

[wernerfreitag]

This happened today to my wife:

She was trying to get cash from the Bangkok Bank ATM in ChiangDao using her Kasikorn Bank Card. After the input of the PIN and her money request nothing happened , just an "out off order " info occured on the screen and she got the card back. It was not possible to get a print-out.

Later my wife got an SMS from Kasikorn Bank saying that 17 000BAHT had been withdrawn from her account.

Is this the new way of increasing profits at Bangkok Bank?

We will see what the Kasikorn Bank will do about it ?!

[WarpSpeed]

Well there's a video and if you file a report to the bank and state the time etc. they can check the video and confirm she didn't get anything.. Don't wait!! We actually got shorted once from a Bangkok bank ATM outside the bank and I hadn't noticed until I got home for a variety of reasons as usually I count it immediately but this time I had extenuating circumstances.

Anyway it wasn't much only 500b but they did do a review and compensated us in short order..

[edwardandtubs]

I'm sure your wife didn't just blow all the money on a card game.

[beano2274]

I had this happen to me as well, I just got the missus to phone them up and the money was credited back into my account, there was no money in the machine and the cash receipts will show that, the bank will refund you quickly.

It is not just Bangkok bank but other banks as well.

[12DrinkMore]

I had this happen to me as well, I just got the missus to phone them up and the money was credited back into my account, there was no money in the machine and the cash receipts will show that, the bank will refund you quickly.

It is not just Bangkok bank but other banks as well.

Never had a problem in dealing with Thai banks over 15 years.

[Jayman]

This happened to me as well when using a foreign ATM card in an AOEN ATM. After I put the card/pin in and selected my withdrawal for max amount (20k) then I heard the machine counting several times and then it spit my card back and closed down. I immediately went to another AEON ATM (this time in an open AOEN bank) and tried again and was shocked when I was told that I had reached my max for the day. After a few calls back to my foreign bank and a few days all was cleared up.

I was still shocked at how the ATM calls my foreign bank and clears the transaction before even checking if it has the funds to pay me. Seems like it should always know how much money it has inside it? No? At the very least, check before you make the pull from my foreign bank. Of course, this does kinda seem like the thai way of doing things... take the money first and check if you have the goods to sell after.

[phetphet]

Also happened to me in that place behind Big C opposite Central World (Fortune Plaza?) in SCB I think.

After entering details, machine returned card, but no money. I went straight inside, and got someone. After checking, they told me the machine had a fault, but no money had been taken from my card. They reset the machine, and watched while I withdrew, to make sure all was OK.

[CharlieH]

Never had an issue myself but seen similar reports over the years and usually the machine is out of money and the problem fixed quickly.

I can understand when it happens to you it could make you panic a bit but its soon sorted as there is no conspiracy.

[SlumdogMillionaire]

Yep add another person to the list.

Happenend to me in Ramkhamheang, the amount was 7000 baht and had to wait one week while they "investigated", got the funds back but still a right pain in the arse.

[exeter]

Not a barrel load laughs, always use a machine a in a mall or go inside a bank, lot safer, easy to be wise after the event, important thing is to learn from it.

[LAKRA]

Yep add another person to the list.

Happenend to me in Ramkhamheang, the amount was 7000 baht and had to wait one week while they "investigated", got the funds back but still a right pain in the arse.

Yeah it happened to me as well in Ramkhamhaeng. Was it the ATM just outside the Mall before you get to the car park? As you say it took a week for the repayment. I don't use that ATM anymore.

[Dave9000]

I don't use the ATM. The girl in the BKK bank is GORGEOUS!

[givenall]

What is amazing that the bank do not fix their problem immediately and they wait till you contact them. I guess they are hopping you forget and they keep the money

[beano2274]

What is amazing that the bank do not fix their problem immediately and they wait till you contact them. I guess they are hopping you forget and they keep the money

How would the bank know, the machine does not even know it is empty?

[Tywais]

Perhaps the tile should be changed to 'Beware of all bank ATMs'.

[chiang mai]

What is amazing that the bank do not fix their problem immediately and they wait till you contact them. I guess they are hopping you forget and they keep the money

How would the bank know, the machine does not even know it is empty?

What is amazing that the bank do not fix their problem immediately and they wait till you contact them. I guess they are hopping you forget and they keep the money

How would the bank know, the machine does not even know it is empty?

ATM's do know when they are empty, they send a signal (or are capable of doing so) to alert the banks maintenance group that the ATM is down to its last X thousand baht/dollars/pounds/etc, that way the refill crew can come out and restock the ATM, I know, I used to do that job on a call out basis. At least that's the way it works in the US, here what happens is the ATM sends the signal and it's ignored, the branch opens and customers go inside and complain and say, "your ATM is empty", staff smile and say "sa kun a car" (sp, phonetics) and still nothing gets done, later in the day the ATM is refilled.

[beano2274]

As Chiang mai says this happens in the US, but the main thing is TIT not the US.

Even if it did send a signal out, how long would it take them to fill it, forms would need to be filled out, so could take hours.

Edited February 8, 2012 by beano2274

[Pib]

ATMs are just updated, electronic snack dispenser machines....sometimes you don't get anything out after putting in your money (or debit card)...then you gotta contact the machine operator.

I expect a 100 years from now it will still be happening when we are standing in front of the ATM, it does an scan of our eye (won't need cards then), we then think "Give me 10,000 baht" (cool, reads our brain waves...but be sure to press English to read farang brain waves), out spits the money (hopefully), and we then go buy our 5,000 baht bowl of noodles. I know some are thinking right now we won't be using paper money a 100 years from now, but in Thailand they still will be....and they will still be debating flood management measures but should have 100 meter tall walls around the Chao Phraya river by then.

[ianguygil]

To the OP

Sorry to hear you have had this problem with one of our 8,000+ ATMs. Please go to your local Bangkok Bank branch, or call 1333, or PM either me or Daveroc.

As I said, we have many thousands of such devices, which are a combination of a PC and an attached physical device for handling the customer interaction (keys, cards etc.), dispensing cash and printing receipts. As with any physical/mechanical device some are bound to break occasionally. You can rest assured that if this happened exactly as you said in your post and the machine did not dispense the cash but debited the account that we will take care of it. As many posters have mentioned any reputable bank will do this.

Any speculation about this being a "scheme" to earn extra cash is just stupid. Our most important asset is the trust of our customers.

Some of the other items which need to be corrected are the amount of data we have and the level of control we have over these machines. We do literally millions of transactions a day on our ATMs for millions of customers. If a machine runs out of cash it knows it and it becomes "unavailable". We try to get to machines running low on cash before they run out, and that in itself is a huge logistical operation with ATMs spread all over the country as we have.

So please just report this through the standard channels and let us take if from there. We will need an official report so we can make sure we are dealing with the person who really have the problem being mentioned. So my advice would be to PM Daveroc (or me but I am busy) or just go into the nearest branch. Thank you

Ian

[Derifo]

I can understand when it happens to you it could make you panic a bit but its soon sorted as there is no conspiracy.

Yeah, I did when it happened to me and it almost cost me what was left in the account.

The shop owner where the machine was located told me to go to the nearest BIB station. When I got there and reported, they took the card and asked for my pin number, wrote it on a piece of paper and asked an officer to go with me to check what I had in the account.

It then occured to me to call my then wife, and as I finished reporting the situation to her, the university student who was their interpreter, asked whom I'd called and reported to, and I told her. She ran to tell the BIB what I'd done. They quickly returned my card and asked me to call the bank to report the situation.

My money was returned after a few days.

[4evermaat]

Never had an issue myself but seen similar reports over the years and usually the machine is out of money and the problem fixed quickly.

I can understand when it happens to you it could make you panic a bit but its soon sorted as there is no conspiracy.

Yep add another person to the list.

Happenend to me in Ramkhamheang, the amount was 7000 baht and had to wait one week while they "investigated", got the funds back but still a right pain in the arse.

Happened to me in chumphon town at 7-11 bkb atm @ traffic light of night market rd and chumphon hospital. Withdraw failed after waiting a minute to contact servers. Then i go to 2nd atm nearby and realized the first withdraw transaction posted as success. Immediately ran to the bkb branch down the street. I had no id or passbook, but knew acct # and has atm card. i filled out a form and they took a copy of atm card. It took 4 days including weekend to refund money. they NEVER asked for my PIN #. 6000 baht. Things do happen for a reason.

As ian said, go to the nearest branch. I had gf with me to translate. The angry part of it was that they knew the atm was faulty and many people already complained. Would it have killed the manager to send a clerk with a "kaput" sign and tape it to atm screen?

There is a way around this for domestic atm cards. Do a balance chech FIRST which is free. If that fails, then you know the machine is faulty. But you'd have to make it a habit to check balance FIRST.

"2nd best time to plant a tree is today." Sent from ThaiVisa app.

[metisdead]

An off topic post has been removed.

[Pib]

If everyone always titled a post "Beware of (_fill in bank name_) ATMs" every bank in Thailand (and the world) would have several threads talking about how the ATMs did not provide any money but charged their bank account. ATMs are electro-mechanical devices that fail/have glitches sometimes. Just contact the ATM owner, give them a few days to validate your claim, and you'll get your money credited back to your account assuming no money was really issued.

Unfortunately, I'm sure there have also been many claims of no money was issued from the ATM when in fact it was issued...not implying anything toward the OP...just saying there are bad folks out there that cause good folks to have to jump through hoops/paperwork to get things corrected.

[Lifer]

As Chiang mai says this happens in the US, but the main thing is TIT not the US.

Even if it did send a signal out, how long would it take them to fill it, forms would need to be filled out, so could take hours.

Well it at least take 3 employees to supervise the one doing the work!

[transam]

As Chiang mai says this happens in the US, but the main thing is TIT not the US.

Even if it did send a signal out, how long would it take them to fill it, forms would need to be filled out, so could take hours.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeer, days even.

[BarnicaleBob]

I know the OP's complaint was about the ATM having a problem but while we are on the subject I thought I would pas this along.

Here is a report from Scambusters about how some crooks manage to scam you when you use an ATM, at the end it also gives advice on how to prevent these things from happening to you:

5 Common, Real ATM Theft Scams

1. The Lebanese Loop

Many thieves are using external devices to confiscate your card. In this scam, a blocking device (which can be as simple as some film glued to trap ATM cards), is inserted into the card slot of the ATM machine. Unwittingly, you place your card into the machine and enter your PIN. All the while, someone nearby may be watching you enter your PIN number.

A very common reaction is to go into the bank to report your confiscated card. Now the thieves jump into action. They remove the blocking device, along with your trapped ATM card and withdraw money from your account.

The way the scammers use the Lebanese Loop can vary. Often, once your ATM card is trapped, a "Good Samaritan" will show up and offer advice on how to get your card back. They may suggest that you enter your PIN number a couple of times.

They might also offer to hold the cancel button while you enter your PIN. What they're really doing is memorizing your PIN number. They're certainly not Samaritans at all!

2. Card Skimming

Skimmers are devices added to ATM machines to capture your card's information, including your account number, balance, and PIN number. These devices, often mounted alongside a machine and labeled 'card cleaners,' are difficult to notice unless you're looking for them.

You may also find card skimmers mounted beside the normal ATM card slot with a sign that says, "slide card here first." Sometimes they are even mounted right on top of where you would normally enter your card. Skimmers can actually collect and store up to 200 ATM cards before they need to be removed by thieves.

3. Shoulder Surfing, Fake PIN Pads, and Even Fake Machines

Another way to glean your ATM PIN number is for thieves to mount a wireless video camera inside the ATM area. It can look as harmless as a brochure holder. Once the scammers have your number, magnetic strips are easy to make and thieves are able to easily reproduce ATM cards.

In addition to using cameras to collect PIN numbers, thieves have designed fake PIN pads that they place on top of the original ATM PIN pad. Unfortunately, with fake PIN pads, your ATM transaction will proceed normally and you won't know a scammer has stolen anything until it's too late.

Thieves have also taken to occasionally putting up fake ATM machines in and around shopping centers and other public locations. Upon placing your card into the card reader, these machines collect your ATM PIN and account information. They do not dispense cash. Rather, a screen comes up that says that the machine is out of money or out of order.

4. Cash Trapping.

Similar to the Lebanese Loop where a thin sleeve traps your card, this time your cash is trapped by a sleeve or device slipped inside the cash dispenser. Your transaction will operate normally, but you won't receive the cash you've withdrawn.

Chances are you'll either walk or drive away assuming the machine is out of order or you'll go inside the bank and report the incident. Either way, you have left the machine and the thieves can walk up, remove the device, and your cash.

5. Phishing

We mentioned above how easy it is for thieves to replicate ATM cards. All they need is a magnetic strip and a plastic card. Armed with an ATM card, all a would-be thief needs is a PIN number. Some email phishing scams have been designed to find out just that.

Representing your bank, a scammer can send you an email with a notice on it saying something about incomplete account information or that you need to update your account information. You click on the link and follow the directions but you're not at your bank, you're at a site designed to look like your bank by thieves. They collect your information and are free to replicate your ATM card or simply withdraw your money from your account via online banking.

8 Tips to Help You Protect Yourself From ATM Theft:

1. 
   Get in the habit of using the same ATM machine for your transactions. Become familiar with it and be able to recognize changes to the machine.
   
2. 
   Use ATM machines inside banks rather than on the street (where they're easier for thieves to access).
   
3. 
   If you're visiting an unfamiliar ATM machine that is not inside a bank, examine it carefully for devices. Card or cash trapping devices need to be glued or taped to the card reader or cash dispenser. Look for 'extra' cameras beyond the basic and generally obvious ATM security camera.
   
4. 
   Never rely on the help of strangers to retrieve a confiscated card.
   
5. 
   Never use an ATM machine when other people are lingering.
   
6. 
   Report confiscated cards immediately. If you can, don't leave the machine. Instead call the bank from the ATM where your card was taken using a cell phone.
   
7. 
   Don't use ATM machines with extra signage or warnings posted on the machine.
   
8. 
   Never follow a link in a supposed bank email notice. If you are wondering if your bank has really contacted you via email, then close the email and directly type your bank's website address into your browser. Visit your account and look for update notices directly on your account or bank's website. The email is almost always a phishing scam.
   

While ATM theft isn't going to go away, the Global ATM Security Alliance reports that just .0016% of all ATM transactions worldwide are affected by crime or fraud. Additionally, with a little bit of care and attention, you can avoid these scams and keep your money.

[GreenSnapper]

You can rest assured that if this happened exactly as you said in your post and the machine did not dispense the cash but debited the account that we will take care of it. As many posters have mentioned any reputable bank will do this.

Well, I cannot speak for Bangkok Bank, but have experienced the "reputable" yellow (Ayudya) Bank.

ATM attached to branch. Want to take 20,000 Bt with my foreign card. No money dispensed, but booked from my account.

Went inside the branch and talked to the manager. "Mai pen rai, this is not our problem. Please talk to head office". ATM was still online and nobody even made some efforts to shut it off.

Went to head office. "Mai pen rai, this is not our problem. Please talk to your home bank".

Talked to home bank. "Please send a letter and all documentation about this case by registered mail. We'll look into it".

Set up a letter and sent by registered mail. Several weeks later my money was reimbursed. I'm not sure my home bank ever got it from the Thai bank.

So it was a big nuisance and I was actually lucky not to have lost the 20K Baht.

[Bpuumike]

Yep add another person to the list.

Happenend to me in Ramkhamheang, the amount was 7000 baht and had to wait one week while they "investigated", got the funds back but still a right pain in the arse.

Yeah it happened to me as well in Ramkhamhaeng. Was it the ATM just outside the Mall before you get to the car park? As you say it took a week for the repayment. I don't use that ATM anymore.

Is that the one next to the 7/11? It never works/delivers cash, but have never been charged either.

[Bpuumike]

I don't use the ATM. The girl in the BKK bank is GORGEOUS!

Check out SCB in The Mall, Ramkamphaeng.

The ladies at BBL Emporium are pretty gorgeous too, just to show not biased.

[Bpuumike]

I know the OP's complaint was about the ATM having a problem but while we are on the subject I thought I would pas this along.

Here is a report from Scambusters about how some crooks manage to scam you when you use an ATM, at the end it also gives advice on how to prevent these things from happening to you:

5 Common, Real ATM Theft Scams

1. The Lebanese Loop

Many thieves are using external devices to confiscate your card. In this scam, a blocking device (which can be as simple as some film glued to trap ATM cards), is inserted into the card slot of the ATM machine. Unwittingly, you place your card into the machine and enter your PIN. All the while, someone nearby may be watching you enter your PIN number.

A very common reaction is to go into the bank to report your confiscated card. Now the thieves jump into action. They remove the blocking device, along with your trapped ATM card and withdraw money from your account.

The way the scammers use the Lebanese Loop can vary. Often, once your ATM card is trapped, a "Good Samaritan" will show up and offer advice on how to get your card back. They may suggest that you enter your PIN number a couple of times.

They might also offer to hold the cancel button while you enter your PIN. What they're really doing is memorizing your PIN number. They're certainly not Samaritans at all!

2. Card Skimming

Skimmers are devices added to ATM machines to capture your card's information, including your account number, balance, and PIN number. These devices, often mounted alongside a machine and labeled 'card cleaners,' are difficult to notice unless you're looking for them.

You may also find card skimmers mounted beside the normal ATM card slot with a sign that says, "slide card here first." Sometimes they are even mounted right on top of where you would normally enter your card. Skimmers can actually collect and store up to 200 ATM cards before they need to be removed by thieves.

3. Shoulder Surfing, Fake PIN Pads, and Even Fake Machines

Another way to glean your ATM PIN number is for thieves to mount a wireless video camera inside the ATM area. It can look as harmless as a brochure holder. Once the scammers have your number, magnetic strips are easy to make and thieves are able to easily reproduce ATM cards.

In addition to using cameras to collect PIN numbers, thieves have designed fake PIN pads that they place on top of the original ATM PIN pad. Unfortunately, with fake PIN pads, your ATM transaction will proceed normally and you won't know a scammer has stolen anything until it's too late.

Thieves have also taken to occasionally putting up fake ATM machines in and around shopping centers and other public locations. Upon placing your card into the card reader, these machines collect your ATM PIN and account information. They do not dispense cash. Rather, a screen comes up that says that the machine is out of money or out of order.

4. Cash Trapping.

Similar to the Lebanese Loop where a thin sleeve traps your card, this time your cash is trapped by a sleeve or device slipped inside the cash dispenser. Your transaction will operate normally, but you won't receive the cash you've withdrawn.

Chances are you'll either walk or drive away assuming the machine is out of order or you'll go inside the bank and report the incident. Either way, you have left the machine and the thieves can walk up, remove the device, and your cash.

5. Phishing

We mentioned above how easy it is for thieves to replicate ATM cards. All they need is a magnetic strip and a plastic card. Armed with an ATM card, all a would-be thief needs is a PIN number. Some email phishing scams have been designed to find out just that.

Representing your bank, a scammer can send you an email with a notice on it saying something about incomplete account information or that you need to update your account information. You click on the link and follow the directions but you're not at your bank, you're at a site designed to look like your bank by thieves. They collect your information and are free to replicate your ATM card or simply withdraw your money from your account via online banking.

8 Tips to Help You Protect Yourself From ATM Theft:

1. Get in the habit of using the same ATM machine for your transactions. Become familiar with it and be able to recognize changes to the machine.
   
2. Use ATM machines inside banks rather than on the street (where they're easier for thieves to access).
   
3. If you're visiting an unfamiliar ATM machine that is not inside a bank, examine it carefully for devices. Card or cash trapping devices need to be glued or taped to the card reader or cash dispenser. Look for 'extra' cameras beyond the basic and generally obvious ATM security camera.
   
4. Never rely on the help of strangers to retrieve a confiscated card.
   
5. Never use an ATM machine when other people are lingering.
   
6. Report confiscated cards immediately. If you can, don't leave the machine. Instead call the bank from the ATM where your card was taken using a cell phone.
   
7. Don't use ATM machines with extra signage or warnings posted on the machine.
   
8. Never follow a link in a supposed bank email notice. If you are wondering if your bank has really contacted you via email, then close the email and directly type your bank's website address into your browser. Visit your account and look for update notices directly on your account or bank's website. The email is almost always a phishing scam.
   

While ATM theft isn't going to go away, the Global ATM Security Alliance reports that just .0016% of all ATM transactions worldwide are affected by crime or fraud. Additionally, with a little bit of care and attention, you can avoid these scams and keep your money.

Thorough advice, and to prevent 'worst case' scenario spread your cash around accounts in different banks.