The days are drawing in (in the Northern hemisphere at least), its dark, its cold, and its busy in the lead up to Xmas and the New Year.  A lot of money is taken out of ATMs this month.  Its a good time for fraudsters!

The easiest way to significantly reduce risk to your card when using an ATM (or any other terminal) is by covering one hand with the other when entering your PIN.

This protects against the threat of financial loss due to your card being copied (by a skimming device that you may not see), being trapped inside the ATM (and subsequently removed by a criminal), or being stolen and subsequently used (Signature based and CNP transactions excepted).  Time is against the bad guys.

The most common ways that criminals obtain a PIN at an ATM are by looking over your shoulder (defeated by covering your PIN), by using spy or micro cameras (also defeated by covering your PIN) and by using a false overlay over the PIN pad.

It should be second nature to cover your PIN at an ATM, just as you don’t typically hold your wallet wide open when removing notes, so that others can see how much is in it.

I'm in the security game and I do cover my hand when entering my PIN.........well most of the time at least.............when I'm not in a rush or distracted..............or Xmas shopping!