Refund allowed if skimming proven
Victims of ATM skimming can ask banks to refund the stolen amount, but only if they can prove it.
“If you can prove that you did not withdraw this money, but it is reflected on your account, you can recover. You only have to prove, (and this is) applicable to all banks,” said Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Cebu Director Leonides Sumbi.
She said victims can request the bank access the footage of ATM used to prove that he or she did not withdraw the amount from the bank.
Just this week, an estimated 50 law enforcers and government employees fell prey to ATM skimming in LandBank of the Philippines in Banilad, Mandaue City.
LBP First Vice President for Eastern and Central Visayas Manny Infante said they found two skimming devices in the machine’s card reader and pinpad.
Infante said the bank has received 10 complaints from users whose accounts were blocked as part of the security measure.
For the local BSP chief, she said the incident should remind everyone to be vigilant. Also, she urged ATM cardholders to take action by replacing their old ATM card with EMV cards from their banks.
EMV stands for Europay, Mas- tercard and Visa, named after the three companies that created the technology. Sumbi said that EMV cards are harder to crack and are less prone to hacking compared the the traditional ATM cards.
At this point, only 85 percent of banks in Cebu are compliant with central bank’s shift-to-EMV mandate. All banks were required to use EMV since January.
Sumbi said two reasons for non-compliance are: EMV cards being “more expensive” for the banks to shoulder, and depositors do not see the urgent need to replace their traditional ATM cards with a more secured one.
“It’s voluntary on the part of depositor. Sometimes they find it too inconvenient to have it changed,” said Sumbi. The BSP does not yet impose penalties to non-compliant banks.
“If dili sila compliant until maabtan sila sa (BSP) examiner, ma finding sila, mahimo na na nga violation (If they are not compliant and they are found out by a BSP examiner, they will be charged with a violation),” she said.
Until now, Sumbi said the BSP does not know how much money is lost by financial institutions due to ATM skimming. The BSP official said banks refuse to divulge it, as this will only scare their respective depositors and lead them to lose clients.