SBI, PNB, BoB, HDFC, ICICI, Kotak, other bank customers, ATM cloning fraud scare to stop haunting soon

ATM cloning fraud: Are you a SBI, PNB, ICICI, HDFC, Bank of Baroda, BoI, Kotak Mahindra, or any other bank's customer scared of ATM cloning? Well here's a good news for you. To save the customers, banks have started making changes to software and hardware in ATMs to ensure the machine shuts down automatically as soon as it suspects cloning. This is in accordance with an order of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

The development comes as a good news in the wake of reports of people losing their hard-earned money to card cloning across the country. A report by Hindi daily Hindustan says Punjab National Bank is already adopting a technology that will make card cloning impossible. As part of the new initiative to protect the interest of customers, the public lender will fit new card readers in ATMs that will accept only chip-based cards.

Changes will also be made to the ATM software so that the bank will be immediately alerted about any fraud. The report say that PNB has started installing 'Anti-Cloning' device in the ATMs. This device will immediately alert the bank headquarters about any cloning attempt by frauds. Also, the cash  machines will shut down and it will be switched on only when the ATM becomes completely secure.  

Deadline 2019!

Early this year, the Reserve Bank of India had "confidentially" asked all banks to install anti-skimming devices and "white-listing" solutions in the ATM machines by March 2019. Failing to do so, banks will face  "supervisory enforcement action", according to a Times of India report. 

How ATM cloning is done? 

Fraudster use ATM skimmer - an add-on device attached over the ATM's card slot. The skimmer can read information on the magnetic stripe of the card and share it with the fraudster who then clones the card.