Surviving Bank Theft in China: What to Do Immediately When a Thief Robs You with an ATM Machine

If you have taken my advice elsewhere on this site, your bank account is already set up to alert you by text message whenever there is activity such as an ATM withdrawal. But what do you do when you get the dreaded message that a large unauthorized withdrawal has just been made on an ATM machine somewhere in China or elsewhere? Sadly, few victims know about an important defensive action to take at that moment that will increase the odds of prevailing in court if your bank, like many banks in China, refuses to refund the money that was stolen from you.

Court? Really? Yes. Unfortunately, Chinese banks may actually accuse you, the victim, of having given your card to someone else to use in the usually distant city where the theft takes place. “How do we know you didn’t take the money out yourself, or give the card to an accomplice to take it out? You’re trying to cheat us!” The bank sometimes won’t even cooperate by providing you the recorded images or video of the person who made the illegal withdrawal, or providing other forms of information they might have that would show this was a criminal act unrelated to you. It’s up to you to prove that you are innocent, without any help from them. What to do?

My advice is simple: the moment you get notice of unauthorized activity, RUSH to the nearest ATM machine, use the ATM card for the account that was just robbed, and make a deposit, a transfer, a withdrawal, or some other action. Stare into the camera monitoring the machine and make sure your face is visible. Your goal: create a record about the location of you and your card at that moment. For extra protection, hold up a sign with your name and the date, maybe holding your photo ID near the camera, and also show your ATM card before and after the transaction (perhaps unnecessary since it will be read and recorded, but this will verify that it’s an ordinary card you are using). The point is to create a record showing that you and your card were in your neighborhood very near the time of the theft, ruling out the possibility that you or your card was in, say, the backwoods of Guizhou province at the time. With this approach, one Chinese man recently successfully overcame the ridiculous defense of his Chinese bank in court and was able to have the judge demand that the bank reimburse him in full for the large unauthorized theft from his account. Just in case, take your card to another ATM machine from a different and do this again. Maybe it helps if one of the ATM machines you visit is associated with the bank whose account was hacked. Create at least two records. In the process, have someone take a photo of you on your camera as you are holding your card (maybe cover the last couple of digits with your fingers) and do that with a background that is easily recognizable (street signs, famous landmark, etc.) and then text it to someone you trust to create an electronic record. These forms of evidence may be helpful in proving your innocence so that the bank will be held accountable for allowing someone to hack your account.

There are thieves out there who use your scanned card and stolen PIN to make bogus duplicates and suck your money out. Sometimes money gets sucked out from your account with inside help from crooked employees. However you are robbed, be ready to swiftly create evidence that can help you in court. Further, defend yourself by using your card as little as possible. Every transaction could result in your data being given to thieves. Always shield your PIN entry. But even that won’t help when an ATM machine has been hacked and is sending data to a thief. Keep lots of cash on hand and use only a few trusted ATM machines in well monitored locations like inside banks to reduce the risk of using a bad machine.

Don’t let large amounts accumulate in your accounts, either. Diversity your resources and don’t risk losing everything if a bank goes belly up, an account is hacked, or you make a ridiculous mistake like leaving your card in an ATM machine and walking away while the terminal is still actively connected to your account (I know someone that happened to, and someone stepped in and just started helping themselves to their money).

One more thing: Be sure to call the bank and report the theft as soon as you’ve created the evidence you’ll need to show where you and your card were located. Hopefully they will work with you, but if you have to sue, it will take several months and once the award is ordered by the judge, they may still drag their feet for a few months. Sigh. One of the challenges of surviving China.

By |2016-10-24T05:57:53-07:00September 24th, 2016|Categories: Business, China, Safety, Scams, Society, Surviving|Tags: , , , , , |Comments Off on Surviving Bank Theft in China: What to Do Immediately When a Thief Robs You with an ATM Machine

Beware Counterfeit Money from ATMs: It Can (Rarely!) Happen in China

Two good friends of mine were traveling in Beijing recently and took out several thousand RMB from a Bank of China ATM machine in the lobby of a popular international hotel chain with a great reputation. Later that day, when they used their cash to pay a cabbie, he checked the bill they gave him and declared it was fake. They tried several other bills and all were fake. They didn’t believe the cabbie. They later went to a restaurant and had their bills rejected. They went back to the hotel and confirmed that the bills were fake, but the hotel said it wasn’t their fault and the bank claimed that it wasn’t possible for fake bills to be issued from their machine.

I’ve read of others encountering fake bills from ATMs, usually with the insistence of the bank that it is not possible. I’m afraid it can happen, though it has never happened to me. But now when I get cash out, before I leave the ATM, I hold a few up to the light to see if they are watermarked. The fake bills my friends had were lightly printed in the watermark area so it looked like a watermark, but holding it up to the light produces a much different effect.

Check a few bills at your ATM machine to reduce the risk of getting a big wad of fakes. Just my two cents.

By |2015-05-17T17:02:10-07:00May 17th, 2015|Categories: China, Scams, Surviving, Travel tips|Tags: , , , , , , , , |Comments Off on Beware Counterfeit Money from ATMs: It Can (Rarely!) Happen in China

Renting in Shanghai: Bring Lots of Cash for Your Apartment

For newcomers to Shanghai, it’s important to know that finding apartments here can be frustrating, time-consuming, and quite expensive. Plan on using a real-estate agent to help you find a place, but realize that it will cost you 50% of your first month’s rent as a rule for the agent’s commission. Then also realize that the landlord will normally require you to pay a deposit of two-month’s rent, in addition to paying at least one month of rent up front. Some contracts (not a majority I think) require paying every two or three months instead of monthly, in which case at closing you may be expected to pay another two month’s rent up front. Depending on where you are renting, what floor you are on, and how nice the place is, a two- or three-bedroom flat around 120 to 170 square meters might cost you from 7,000 to 20,000 RMB per month or more. That’s more than many Americans pay for their mortgage on houses much bigger than the apartment. Shanghai is a very expensive place to rent, one of the more expensive cities in the world, though it can be an inexpensive place to eat.

Make sure you have enough cash on hand when you relocate here! Cash is king here. Landlords won’t take your credit card, and China banks make it hard to access your Western funds. Cash is what you are going to need. ATM cards can work. Wiring funds can work but is difficult. Bring plenty of cash.

By |2014-06-06T17:45:57-07:00June 6th, 2014|Categories: China|Tags: , , , |Comments Off on Renting in Shanghai: Bring Lots of Cash for Your Apartment
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