SAN FRANCISCO — An investigation from our partner station, KGO-TV in the San Francisco Bay area, uncovered a new kind of ATM fraud — thieves using glue and ATM “faucet” features to drain victims' bank accounts.
It happened to several customers of Chase bank in San Francisco — but the bank denied their claims.
So what are your rights if your money is stolen? The law says the bank must return the money – but Chase decides the customer picks it up himself.
Ani Dimusheva said it was bad enough when thieves stole her money at the San Francisco Chase ATM. But then the bank refused to believe it.
“Their excuse was, ‘Yeah we counted the money at the ATM and it was gone so, therefore, you took it.' And it's frankly like that,” Dimusheva said.
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“And they said to me, ‘There is nothing more we can do for you, Miss Dimusheva. Have we answered all your questions?' And I was like, ‘No…'” she said.
The same thing happened to Joey Mularky. Thieves at the same ATM stole $1,700 from his account.
“And they just said, you know, ‘You have no evidence for this claim,'” Mularky said.
Chase told him he must have taken the money himself.
“I called, spent hours on the phone trying to get the supervisors to just let them see the video. And they said no,” he said.
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Mularky and Dimusheva are the latest to report scammers have conned them at a San Francisco ATM, using glue and “tap features” to drain their accounts.
In each case, Chase's bank rejected their claim.
“‘We are not refunding you because this is an official transaction.' I said it was ridiculous,” said Pamela Bongiorno, another victim of the scam.
“Well I didn't allow it and they have to have a picture of who actually did it,” said Rob Bell.
“You guys have a camera. And he was emphatically like, ‘Well, you have to prove it wasn't you,'” Stephanie Barry said.
RELATED: ATM thieves use glue and ‘tap' functionality to drain accounts at Chase Bank
Consumer advocates say banks are required by law to conduct a “reasonable investigation” of any customer claims – and cannot require customers to prove fraud.
“By law, EFTA, it's actually on the bank to prove that the maker of the transaction was legit,” said consumer protection attorney Nick Barthell.
“The problem here is the bank is not living up to its responsibilities. You have the right to a full investigation, and you have to get that full investigation,” said consumer advocate Ed Mierzwinski of CALPIRG.
The victims said Chase refused to review surveillance video to see who had actually taken their money.
“What I was told is you can't withdraw the security footage unless you have a subpoena from the police,” said Bongiorno.
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“They said that the police had to ask for video surveillance or they would not have access to it,” Mularky said.
“When a bank comes up with some kind of excuse, it's wrong. They have a responsibility to investigate your complaint and make you whole,” says Ed Mierzwinski.
Mierzwinski said banks cannot ignore evidence such as surveillance videos.
And the customer says that the branch manager knows about the fraud.
“He told me that they put glue on the ATM machine's card reader. So you can't use your card,” said Bongiorno.
And when the card reader doesn't work, a stranger offers to help.
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“He said, ‘Oh, you have to tap your card, because it's broken.' And I was like, ‘Oh, thank you,'” Mularky said. “I just tapped my phone and pulled out $40. That's it.”
“I heard a man say, ‘Oh, you have to knock,' and I knocked on his card. My transaction was done, I got my money. And I left,” Dimusheva said. “And I saw the guy move over to the ATM after I left. And I thought, ‘Okay, this is where I kind of got a red flag.'”
The next day Dimusheva found five more withdrawals from her account — $940 was missing.
Mularky found six withdrawals — leaving only $19 in his account.
It turns out that by tapping the card on the Chase ATM, the transaction window stays open even after the cash is out. If the customer leaves without closing the windows, thieves can step in and withdraw more money.
After 7 On Your Side contacted Chase, the bank reviewed each customer's claim and refunded them, telling us: “We made changes to our ATMs to protect our customers.”
Chase did not say why it was denying the claim or what efforts were being made to investigate the ATM fraud. However, the thief does need to re-enter the PIN to clear the account — and appears to be watching or recording the victim entering the PIN. So, always cover the keypad when you enter it.
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