How the money went missing from DBS/POSB accounts?

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By Dylan Loh | Posted: 06 January 2012 2237 hrs 


 SINGAPORE: DBS Bank said that 400 customers have been victims of an ATM fraud scheme that has seen S$500,000 stolen from POSB and DBS accounts over the last two days.

The unauthorised withdrawals were made in Malaysia, with the bulk of them occurring on Wednesday.

DBS Bank said internal investigation shows that the unauthorised withdrawals were part of a card skimming operation.

One information security expert Channel NewsAsia spoke to said fraudsters may have done a quick job to swipe bank information from DBS/ POSB customers.

This is done by removing the skimming devices attached to automated teller machines (ATMs) shortly after they have cloned customers' bank card details.

And this could have happened when ATM security cameras weren't watching.

At a DBS/POSB ATM, a green device is attached to the slot where one inserts the bank's card. This anti-skimming device plays a part in keeping money safe.

Some said what could have happened was that the security system was somehow bypassed, allowing unauthorised withdrawals to be made from accounts through the use of copied information from the original bank cards.

Gerard Tan, president of the Association of Information Security Professionals, said: "You need two pieces of information to make a fake card. One is the magnetic strip information and the other is the Personal Identification Number (PIN).

"So the person who is going to commit this fraud need to capture that through a device which reads the card magnetic information and he needs to then capture the PIN itself through maybe a device like a camera or his eyes - his observation from his eyes. Combine the two together, and you can then create a fake ATM card."

Experts said the ATM fraud could be the work of a syndicate. They advised bank customers to observe ATMs for signs of tampering before making cash withdrawals. They should also report to the bank if they see anything unusual.

The case of the disappearing sums from DBS/POSB bank accounts has left many irate.

A victim of the fraud, Billy Tanu, said: "Honestly, my confidence is a little bit shattered because this is supposed to be safest bank - the claim it is Asia's safest bank. And such kind of fraud can happen. I mean, the transaction is made in Malaysia, and I've not been to Malaysia - not in the past two to three years."

- CNA/ck

Related News • DBS Bank finds 400 cases of unauthorised withdrawals • POSB/DBS customers check accounts following fraud cases • Unauthorised withdrawals from POSB/DBS accounts Video How the money went missing from DBS/POSB accounts?