ATMs that belong to the Sberbank credit organization have puzzled many users. At a certain time, they stopped accepting 5,000 ruble banknotes. Evgenia Leontyeva, who is the official spokesperson for the press service of Sberbank, explained that customers have problems when working with certain ATMs.
Experts explained the situation with Sberbank ATMs in 2018
The situation with the problem of accepting five thousandth banknotes is due to the fact that Sberbank employees periodically update the system, which will allow devices to more effectively detect counterfeit currencies. Self-service terminals, as well as ATMs that operate on the territory of the Russian Federation, make up a significant number. Moreover, the total number of these devices is the largest network in the world, amounting to 86 thousand units. 10 percent of ATMs installed in the country do not accept banknotes with a face value of 5 thousand rubles. In order to make a payment or deposit of funds, you must contact the cashier of the credit institution, presenting an identity document. Representatives of Sberbank report that restrictions on the operation of ATMs have arisen periodically since 2012.
The loudest facts of the use of counterfeit banknotes by fraudsters
Counterfeiters who do their work in the country use ATMs to dump counterfeit money into the banking system and then cash it out. In Moscow, there was an incident involving two people (26 and 27 years old) who officially did not work anywhere. Funds were withdrawn from the ATM of Sberbank when counterfeit banknotes from the Bank of Jokes were used for these purposes. The device did not recognize the souvenirs. A similar situation occurred with visiting citizens, whose actual place of residence was indicated in the Rostov region. They deposited funds in the amount of 3 million 170 thousand rubles into the ATM. Three bank cards were involved and funds in the amount of 325 thousand rubles were withdrawn. To avoid such situations, the system is constantly updated. Representatives of the credit organization ask citizens not to panic, and if it is not possible to deposit banknotes with a face value of 5 thousand rubles, contact the cashier of the banking institution directly.
If you inserted a card into an ATM in the hope of withdrawing your hard-earned money or replenishing your account, but instead he just ate it and did not choke, this is very disappointing, but solvable. You just need to know how to act in such a situation.
Why ATMs do not return cards
The reasons can be very different, from quite weighty ones (protecting your money) to banal software failures and mechanical failures. The ATM will not return your card if:
- you entered the wrong PIN code several times in a row;
- you tried to use an expired or blocked card;
- the card is demagnetized or has mechanical damage;
- you are trying to carry out an operation that is suspicious from the point of view of an ATM - for example, to withdraw all funds from the account;
- you did not collect the card after the time specified on the ATM screen;
- the ATM is frozen or broken.
In the latter case, the ATM will either completely stop showing signs of life, or a service message will appear on the screen about a malfunction or technical malfunction. If the ATM swallowed the card and shows a standard invitation to serve the next client, this means that your card has been delayed, and not just stuck.
Under such circumstances, in most cases, ATMs issue a check that indicates the card retention code. Do not throw it away, it will be useful to you when applying for a return. If the ATM does not give you such a check, it's okay. The absence of a check is not a reason for refusing to return the card.
What to do first and what not to do in any case
The first thing to try is forcibly canceling the operation. Press and hold the "Cancel" button for a few seconds. Sometimes this helps and the ATM returns the card.
In any case, do not leave the ATM for the next 20 minutes, because if it freezes, it may “hang” after a while.
What you definitely should not do is to knock on the ATM with your hands and feet. At best, nothing will happen. At worst, your behavior will attract the attention of the guards and you will add trouble to yourself.
If the ATM has not returned your card, you will have to call the bank that owns the ATM. On the device itself, as a rule, there is the name of the bank and a contact phone number, by which they will explain to you what to do next. If the ATM is located in the bank building, contact the employees: you may be lucky and it will be enough just to write an application for a refund and wait for the collection. It all depends on the internal rules of the bank.
If the card was chewed up by an ATM of your bank
If the incident occurred with the ATM of the bank that issued your card, then the return procedure will be simple, although it will take some time. Here's what you need to do.
- Report the incident by phone, give your details and card details, and, if necessary, answer the security question. A bank employee will tell you where and with what documents you need to apply to apply for a card return.
- Block the card. This is an optional but recommended step, especially if the card has disappeared due to a malfunction of the ATM. So you will definitely be sure that your money will not be used.
- Find out what it takes to issue an additional card. In many cases, this is faster than returning a swallowed card.
If the card was not returned by an ATM of another bank
If the card remains in an ATM of a third-party bank, you will have to communicate with him too. In this case, the algorithm of actions will be as follows.
- First of all, call the one that serves the ATM and find out how you can return your card.
- Then contact the bank that issued your card and report the incident. You may need a confirmation letter from your bank, which you will need to provide to the bank that owns the ATM.
- Be sure to block your card.
- Ask your bank to issue an additional card. In this case, it definitely makes sense, since the return procedure can be very long. The fact is that some banks return other people's cards not personally, but exclusively through the banks that issued them.
How to insure
Write down and always have with you the contact number of the bank that issued you the card, the card number, its expiration date and the answer to the security question.
Try not to use ATMs that do not have the phone number of the service organization.
Also, if possible, try not to use ATMs located in rarely visited places. The fact is that the collection of such ATMs is carried out every few days.
You can also order an additional card in advance. In this case, if the main card gets stuck in an ATM, you will still have access to the funds in your account.
Temporary loss of the card does not mean loss of money. Your funds remain in your account and will not go anywhere from you. Moreover, you can apply to the bank with an application for the issuance of the required amount to you.
The other day I wanted to go to Sberbank in the morning and put money on the card, but I could not do this through an ATM. He refused to accept any 5000 bills.
I decided to find out why the terminal does not want to accept money. To which he received only a vague reply:
Collection has not yet arrived, so five thousandth bills are not accepted.
After a little familiarization with the issue, everything fell into place.
It's all about counterfeit bills
As it turned out, many bank branches have old-generation terminals that read not 4 “originality” identification marks, but only 2.
Recently, news about the issuance of counterfeit banknotes by ATMs has become more frequent on the Web. So, in July 2017, representatives of Sberbank announced the presence of a large number of fakes in ATMs.
There were so-called gluings, where, conditionally, out of ten banknotes, cutting them into ten parts, gluing them together, one additional banknote appears, which is entered into the card account, and then issued in cash. - Deputy Chairman of the Board of Sberbank Stanislav Kuznetsov in an interview with Interfax
As a rule, the fault lay with the ATM manufacturer. It is alleged that there are no more problems with Russian banknotes.
However, not all ATMs are now updated, too little time has passed. Foreign counterfeit banknotes have become increasingly popular.
How does an ATM tell a real bill from a fake?
As mentioned above, there are 4 main signs of originality. In fact, there are more of them, but for many ATMs, these are enough.
Let's analyze the most famous.
Visible to the human eye
Watermark. Images created by sections of paper of different density are visible through the light.
Security thread. A metal or polymer tape embedded in the thickness of the paper. Can be simple or diving.
microprinting. A banknote design may contain tiny symbols, usually the denomination or bank designation, or simply small elements that are distinguishable only under magnification.
Protective fibers. Scraps of multi-colored threads located in the paper pulp.
microperforation. Laser-pierced, even, identical small holes that make up an image or an inscription. Like watermarks, they show up against the light. The relief of the holes should not be felt by the fingers, the paper around them should not be charred.
Relief printing. Inscriptions and drawings, distinguishable by touch. They perform both a utilitarian function (labels for the blind) and an anti-counterfeiting function.
Kipp effect. A corrugated area of the surface, on the side faces of the corrugations there is an image that is visible only when viewed from an acute angle.
Overlapping images. A drawing whose different elements are located on different sides of the sheet. When viewed against the light, the parts must fit exactly to each other and give a solid image.
Oryol seal. Thin lines, the color of which changes along the line without visible interruptions and creeping colors. Ordinary multi-color printing will inevitably give a color registration error in this case.
Foil stamping. A pattern made with metal foil pressed onto the surface of paper.
MVC. Moiré stripes of different colors that are visible when the banknote is tilted.
OVI. Optically variable paint. An element that changes its color depending on the angle at which it is viewed.
Hologram. An element that gives a three-dimensional holographic image that rotates when the banknote is tilted.
What does an ATM learn?
Most detectors check the size of banknotes first, although this is not the primary sign of authenticity. Dimensions are checked optically, by scanning in transmitted light.
The image of a banknote in visible light is obtained by scanning, or in transmitted light. The device can check not the entire surface, but several zones. In such a situation, separate optocoupler sensors are sufficient: an LED and a photodiode.
Scanning can be done in one color (usually red) or full color. In the second case, the scanner contains several color channels. And it's not always an RGB palette.
infrared image
This is one of the main machine-readable features. When creating a banknote, special metameric inks are used. They perfectly convey dark and light areas on banknotes under IR irradiation.
UV labels
The second sign is marks applied by phosphors. They are very visible under ultraviolet light.
Magnetic tags
Also, in some areas, paint with magnetic properties is used.
To recognize them, ATMs use special reading heads that look like ordinary tape recorders.
Special elements "I" and "M"
The protective element "I" consists of substances called anti-Stokes phosphors. They light up green when illuminated by intense infrared light.
As for the element "M", then the scheme of work is slightly different. If the banknote is illuminated alternately with 940 nm and 850 nm light, the element will appear to flash.
Of course, the Central Bank will not publish all the secrets in the public domain. Much is hidden from counterfeiters.
These measures do not always save
Unfortunately, scammers are constantly finding ways to scam ATMs. Therefore, bank employees are required to double-check all "cash" several times a day, and then transfer it to collectors.
Now banknotes with a face value of 5000 rubles are especially popular among counterfeiters, so they are given special attention. And it is for this reason that the same Sberbank will not let you put these bills in an ATM before the arrival of collectors.
We carefully check each banknote at the ATM before the arrival of the collection machine. If it contains at least a fake, the terminal will temporarily become unavailable to customers.
A technician is called in to check each element of the ATM. And after troubleshooting, the ATM is filled with money again and continues its work.
Sometimes it happens that an ATM “spits out” (returns) a card without serving you, its client, on it, and you, dumbfounded, do not know what to do next. Why is the ATM not reading your card?
The reasons for this may be different:
- The card is not inserted correctly. Double-check again whether you inserted your card into the ATM hole with the wrong side. If you have forgotten how to do this or are using the card for the first time, then ask the person behind you in line to help you. If there is no one around, then simply try to “poke” the card with different sides to the hole - it might work.
- Your card does not belong to the payment system served by this ATM. For example, a local pension card of a certain bank may not be serviced by ATMs of other banks.
- The card is damaged or the ATM does not work.
What to do
- Carefully study all the inscriptions present on the ATM - there are logos of all systems serviced by the ATM. Not finding "your" system in the list, you need to go in search of your ATM.
- If the systems match, but the ATM does not accept the card, just in case, you need to try it in another device. Refusal to accept the card by several ATMs indicates that the magnetic strip is damaged. This means that the card must be reissued, for which you need to contact the branch that issued the card.
If you need money urgently...
Perhaps you don't have time, or your nearest branch of your bank is closed for lunch, and you just need the money right now! And this situation is solvable. In ATMs of some banks, a unique service has recently appeared - cash withdrawal without a card. Money without a card can be obtained by calling the bank at a special phone number, which you can find out by “talking” with an ATM. In this case, be sure to remember the PIN-code from the damaged card.
If your bank does not yet provide such a service and ATM didn't dispense money, then you have no choice but to go to the nearest branch and reissue the card or receive money at the cash desk with your passport (although you will still have to reissue the card later).
To get a new card, you will definitely need a mobile phone, but just in case, take your passport and credit card (if any) with you - it all depends on the bank.
Banks are faced with a massive stuffing of counterfeit five-thousandth banknotes, the Vedomosti newspaper writes. The manufacturer of popular ATMs in Russia NCR last week warned banks about the threat.
According to them, the problem will only affect those ATMs that have the old bill checking system: most likely, such devices will not be able to recognize a fake.
The Moscow 24 portal found out from experts what such incidents are connected with and how they can be prevented.
Sergey Nikitin, Deputy Head of the Group IB Computer Forensics Laboratory, said that ATMs that only accept money have special equipment that scans various marks on the banknote. According to the expert, there are similar equipment of different generations, as well as the software that controls them.
Fraudsters assemble something resembling a puzzle or a patchwork quilt from bills, and the bill may not even look like the original one. "They just place them in certain places where the system reads the necessary fragments of banknote protection. One banknote is obtained in this way as a compilation of different banknotes - 50-ruble, thousandths, etc.," Nikitin said.
Then the attacker inserts the banknote into the ATM, the scanner reads the necessary marks, and the ATM considers that the banknote is "normal" and credits it to the card account.
"The problem is that today many ATMs are quite old and with old scanners. To solve this problem, they will need to be upgraded either software, if the scanner is relatively new, or hardware, when the scanner needs to be changed to a fresh sample that does not fall into the trap of these intruders ", says the expert.
According to RIA Novosti, Alfabank will decommission ATMs with outdated systems - they make up 0.5% of the total ATM network. And Sberbank did not impose restrictions on accepting cash at its ATMs, since the devices are securely protected and are updated frequently.
Yaroslav Babin, Senior Expert at the Banking Systems Security Research Department at Positive Technologies, said that the process of checking banknotes at an ATM goes as follows: a special device scans and recognizes banknotes according to the "images" of each banknote entered into it in advance. Then the data is processed in the ATM computer with special software, and after the replenishment request goes to the banking processing over the network.
Vulnerable points
Babin drew attention to some points that are vulnerable to attacks by intruders. First, counterfeit banknotes that will be scanned. "This problem is being solved by updating the images of banknotes and introducing more modern bill acceptors," the expert noted.
The next problem is the forgery of the "images" themselves. "According to the idea of ATM manufacturers, this is impossible due to the fact that all images must be signed with cryptographic keys," the expert said.
In addition, scammers can fake commands to deposit money from a bill acceptor. "An attacker can forge a request so that the bill acceptor, accepting one banknote, will perceive that five banknotes have been deposited. This is possible due to the fact that in ATMs there are often no encryption mechanisms between the bill acceptor and the ATM computer, they do not work correctly, or the attacker has the ability to turn them off," Babin explained.
There is also the possibility of spoofing requests in the ATM computer and on the transmission of its network. "It happens in exactly the same way as the previous attack - when the attacker has physical access to the computer or when network interaction is intercepted. With such an attack, substitution / repetition of requests for depositing money is possible," the expert added.
He emphasized that falsification of "images" and requests in the ATM computer and over the network is possible only with access to the service area of the ATM. "That is why this type of attack is not very popular. When attackers have access to ATM equipment, they are likely to try to use simpler and more proven methods to make a profit," Babin said.
First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on State Construction and Legislation Mikhail Emelyanov proposed to punish banks that partially limited the acceptance of five thousandth banknotes at ATMs. “Law enforcement agencies should fight fakes. And as far as I know, they do it successfully. And banks that cause panic among people should be punished, maybe even up to the revocation of the license,” he said.
Chairman of the State Duma Committee on the Financial Market Anatoly Aksakov expects that Russian ATMs will soon resume accepting five thousandth banknotes. He noted that the scale of this problem is minimal, it could affect less than 1% of ATMs.
Evgenia Markova