News

Japan blocks mobile signals at ATMs, prevents growing fraud

December 10, 2008

Lets Japan:Banks in Japan are protecting ATMs with mobile-phone signals. In October, Japanese police spearheaded a massive effort to prevent scam artists from luring unsuspecting citizens to bank ATMs to withdraw money. The con artists would call and tell the victims to bring a phone in order to receive continuous instructions. Police eventually were stationed at ATMs and questioned users who were seen making withdrawals while on the phone. But Chiba Bank has gone a step further, this month installing phone signal jamming devices at four of its off-premises cash dispensers in Greater Tokyo. The electric wave control unit reportedly blocks cellular signals inside a sphere of between one and two meters around the ATM.

Click to continue