ATM Scams

Bob, how could you omit the biggest, most expensive ATM scam of all - the legal one? I'm talking about ATM bank fees, of course!

$2.50 to $3.50 by the ATM owner is not unusual. Then one's own bank adds a $1.50 or so "interchange fee" or "foreign ATM fee".

"To stop suffering, stop greediness. Greediness is a source of suffering." ~ The Buddha.

There's a Whole Foods a half-block from my Home, another source of greediness and suffering. Distilled water costs more than gasoline there. I buy at "Whole Wallet" only when I need cash back, and then nothing over 79 cents.

YES... spelling, punctuation, grammar and proper use of UPPER/lower case are important!

"So be weary of where you swipe your credit or debit cards...."

'wary'

Hi, Bob! Your articles are always excellent and well written. As a former English major, I always smile when I read your caption to the comment box where I am entering my comments:" Yes... spelling, punctuation, grammer and proper use of UPPER/lower case are important."

I think you and I are the only two remaining people who care. So it was with glee that I read, "So be weary of where you swipe your credit or debit cards." "be weary" means "be tired." I think you meant "be wary," which means "be careful."

Also, while I'm writing this tongue-in-cheek scolding, when you say, "Yes... spelling, punctuation ... are important," you are misusing an ellipsis -- the three periods that indicate the ommission of words from a sentence. Modern users often use an ellipsis to indicate a pause, but that is considered substandard. You probably want to say "Yes! Spelling ..." etc. or "Yes -- spelling ..."

But don't spend so much time proofreading that you cut back on your excellently-researched and presented articles!

EDITOR'S NOTE: Okay, the "weary/wary" thing is fixed. It was an honest typo, and I appreciate you and others calling me on it. But... I'm clinging to my ellipses, substandard or not! :-)

I find it interesting that "account Manager" was so critical of your spelling and grammar. Maybe he/she should have used spellcheck on his/her comment. "indicate the ommission of words"

Thanks for the info, Bob. I appreciate your efforts.

Dear Bob,

Thank you because I learned from you a lot as well as with your editors, I meant your readers who posted comments, questions or suggestions.

Best Regards.

Charles Benson

My banks' atm ate my card. This has happened in the past @ other banks-all I did was go to the bank and they would give it back.

When I went to my bank they said the atm is outsourced and they have nothing to do with its operation. This is pretty sketchy esp since there are many issues such as security involved.

I do not use atm anymore, if I need to make a deposit I make my deposit w/my slip in the depository.

When I shop I write the ck for $25 over so I always have some cash. I write cks or use cc's and pay off the balance ea mo.

"When I shop I write the ck for $25 over so I always have some cash. I write cks or use cc's and pay off the balance ea mo"

Cheques are out of fashion. Using a CC for small amounts pushes up the cost to every purchaser as the fee is factored into the price.

Giving a retailer a cash or credit card can be risky; that is where much of the fraud originates.

If you want cash abroad, the ATM can be cheaper than exchanging cash, depending on the fees involved.

I use cash for small transactions only - this is why I write the check for over the amount - and, I do not need to make a special trip to a bank or privately owned atm and pay a fee and wonder if it was safe. Most stores will not allow cc purchases under a certain amount anyways.

Avoiding atm's is much more important to me than the 'hassle' of writing checks - which large retailers merely print the tranaction amount on and no special swipe machine, additional signatures or duplicated copies of receipt are required. I make my check out in advance, and insert the transaction amount before handing it to the clerk-what could be easier. I am not interested in paying the fees charged if I am using a bank other than my own.

Cc's and checks allow me to monitor my transactions and give me a hard copy. I'm not really good at keeping track of the myriad of tiny slips accrued so this works great. To each his own... ;D

Many scam victims are too embarrassed to talk about their losses. You information is helpful to protect ourselves from these popular scams.