Fears over ATMs in wrong hands
- Source: Global Times
- [09:54 June 24 2010]
- Comments
Discarded ATM machines sit near Caogaozhi Road in Pudong New Area Wednesday. Photo: Zhang Cao
By Zhang Cao
A logistics company responsible for sending old or faulty ATM machines back to manufacturers is denying that it planned to sell a batch of discarded ones on the black market Wednesday.
Forty ATM machines piled near Caogaozhi Road in a remote neighborhood belonging to Pudong New Area were the subject of the suspicion, days after police arrested a man surnamed Wang for allegedly using an ATM machine in Beijing to scam some 7,000 yuan ($1,027).
But Qu Shunzhong, the man in charge of the ATM machines on the street Wednesday, told the Global Times that the machines were recently scrapped by Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and China Citic Bank, and were by the roadside waiting to be shipped back to the manufacturer, Diebold Company.
"It's ridiculous that people are saying that I am trying to illegally sell these machines," said Qu, who works for the Shanghai Minshun Logistic Company.
He added that he has no idea what the manufacturer does with the returned machines.
Diebold Company Wednesday declined to answer questions or comment on the situation when the Global Times reached Li Yunji, director of the service department for the US-headquartered manufacturer's Shanghai office.
Meanwhile, this Global Times reporter located a man surnamed Pan Wednesday on alibaba.com, who was offering to sell an ATM machine in Hebei Province for some 2,000 yuan ($293), but refused to say where he got the machine.
"It's a discarded machine from a bank that we got a year ago, and it has been repaired," he said via phone. "If you really want it then come and pick it up, and bring cash with you."
According to a press officer who works for a German manufacturer that makes ATM machines for use worldwide, including ones in Shanghai, the machines in question are either modified after they are put on the black market, or they are made completely from scrap materials.
"The machines are hollow inside, but contain a card reader, which works by recording the magnetic strip and the code entered," said the woman who preferred to remain anonymous. "The machines then flash an 'out of order' sign before ejecting the card, and then criminals are able to make replicas of the cards by using the stolen information."
She added that individuals should stick to only using ATM machines that are located inside banks, or in crowded areas rather than in remote places to reduce the risk of coming across a rigged machine.
While the case that occurred in the capital remains under investigation, authorities believe the machine was rigged to appear as a Hang Seng Bank ATM machine, but meant to secretly record the passwords granting access to the accounts of the swiped cards.
The first case of its kind to be reported has caused a headache for officials as even lawyers cannot figure out who should regulate the sale and purchase of ATM machines in China.
"So far, there is no law that regulates the machines, so technically, anyone can buy or sell them," Wan Wenzhi, a lawyer from Shanghai Haiyao Law Firm, told the Global Times Wednesday. "There's also no regulation that concerns with how to deal with discarded machines, so that's in the hands of the banks."
However, the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) would likely be the most appropriate body to oversee the matter, said Wan.
The CBRC said Wednesday during a press conference in Shanghai that it is surprised about how the rigged ATM machines came to be, and confused about who should handle the matter.
"It's a new situation," said Yang Shaojun, deputy director of general office of the CBRC, "There's no regulation on who should manage the problem - maybe the industry and commerce administrators?"
Zhou Mi contributed to this story
