Thiruvananthapuram: Even as they introduce fresh charges on ATM services, banks give the least importance to their security. Despite many instances of frauds, customers are also quite careless while using ATMs. These factors together make ATM transactions vulnerable to security threats. The lackadaisical attitude of banks has once again been exposed as the State Bank of India authorities failed to detect a mischievous activity inside an ATM kiosk of a prominent branch in the state capital on June 30 until the fraud came to light the other day, more than a month later.
With the Reserve Bank of India mandating installation of video surveillance on ATMs, almost all the 9,000 odd kiosks are at present having video cameras. However, the video footage is stored as mere backups for one month to one year depending on storage capacity. But no bank has any permanent monitoring facility. "Banks check the footage only in case of any issues. It seems no bank has a foolproof round-the-clock surveillance," said the manager of a nationalised bank in the city.
Even as advanced technology options are available to make them reliable, those are not being implemented here. "Along with the PIN, fingerprint or any other biometric system could be incorporated with ATMs. This would make cards more secure," said cyber forensic expert Varghese Babu. Data from the magnetic tape based bank cards being widely used here these days could be easily fetched using skimmers, whereas chip-based cards are not prone to data theft using skimmers, banking sector sources point out.
Customers also pay the price by compromising on minimum security norms. Even as repeated awareness is being provided to ensure the privacy of PIN entering, many customers even ignore the presence of unknown persons inside during a transaction. "It is even mandatory that security personnel keep outside the ATM counter, especially when a customer enters. But those rules remain only on paper," said the bank official.
The locations of many ATMs are also a cause for concern. Many off-site ATMs are in isolated and poorly lit areas, that too without any security. "Anyone required to take money from such an ATM at odd hours would be doing it at a high risk," said Robin John, a Thiruvananthapuram native who suffered a snatching attempt near an ATM near Nedumangad a few years back.
The banks also often show a lackadaisical attitude towards the complaints of suspicious withdrawals. The first level of defence of banks would be to tell that customer that some of their family members might have used the debit card. Once a customer rules it out, the banks will blame them of not maintaining the secrecy of PIN or mishandling bank cards. "Getting back money looted using ATMs or other electronic means is very remote," said the bank manager.
