Be alert when withdrawing money from ATM.

Nowadays, there are so many people out there waiting to grab some of your money one way or the other. There are emails informing you of the good fortune of winning some lottery that you have never entered for. Then, there's the poor lady who needs a little financial help to get her million dollar inheritance out of the bank. There is this guy with a fantastic money-earning business that needs you as a partner. What a huge load of good luck on the internet; money waiting for us to have.

Sorry, the luck is not ours. It's theirs. Money waiting for those unscrupulous ones hoping to find easy money from people among us who greedily hope to get easy money from unheard of sources.

If such tactics on the internet no longer work well, there are still other ways to get your money. And those guys are brainy with lots of ideas as you can see from the true story below. And they prove they can work as a team too! The only thing is that they use their intelligence wrongly, right for them but wrong for us, anyway. Well, those guys could hold a seminar on 'How to get a million ringgit a month with no sweat.' and charge each entry a thousand ringgit. Who knows? One day, they may do just that and the police will be after me for giving them that idea.

Well, here's the true story from one guy. To be forewarned is to be forearmed. Read on and know what can possibly happen.
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High Alert when you withdraw money from an ATM.
Please share.


This afternoon around 5:30pm I was at Queensbay Mall Penang, doing some financial payments (credit card, mobile and etc). I went to the 1st floor Maybank ATM to withdraw some money.

As the ATM was finalising my payment, someone tapped me on the shoulder. Naturally I turned around, and there was this stocky Middle Eastern man (around 5ft 2in, fair complexion), pointing to some money on the floor (around RM30plus, there were three 10 ringgits and several 1 ringgit notes).

He said "I saw you drop your money just now". Coincidentally, today, I had some bundled spare notes in my shirt pocket. So I picked up the ringgits on the floor.

Suddenly, a lady, also of Middle Eastern descent - shoulder length curly hair, fair complexion, 5ft 3in, said to me " It's my money!" Then the man told her " No, I saw him dropping it - while pointing to me". Instantly I checked my shirt pocket with a quick glance and I felt and saw that my bundle of spare notes was intact. Without any hesitation, I passed the money to the lady and said "It's your money, not mine."

Within a split second, I turned back to the ATM and saw a male person's hand (did not see the face) reaching for my ATM card that the machine automatically returned upon finishing a transaction. Out of natural instinct, I slapped on the wrist of the person's hand that was trying to take my ATM card.

And the person quickly walked off. I did not have a chance to look at the face as I was waiting for the ATM to dispense my RM1500.

All this happened within 2 to 3 seconds. When I finally got my cash and turned around, the Middle Eastern man and woman had disappeared, including the taller male person who was trying to take my ATM card and, most probably, my cash. I quickly went down the escalator to see where they had gone, I managed to catch a glimpse of the Middle Eastern lady as she was going down the escalator but, soon, she also quickly vanished from my sight.

If I had been slightly doubtful of my own cash in my shirt pocket or had been greedy, I would most likely had my RM1500 stolen. The Middle Eastern man's and lady's job was to create a diversion and confusion, while another person's intention was to snatch my ATM card and cash out of the machine while I was not looking.

This could happen in any mall and, at the time, there were some people withdrawing from a few other machines as well. So it was not a totally secluded area. I firmly believe they are not the only group in Penang or Malaysia.

Points to be remember to remain on high alert:
1. If somebody taps your shoulder while you are withdrawing from an ATM, make sure
you are mindful of your surroundings and focus especially on taking your money
first.
2. Their usual trick is to create a diversion. So, focus on what you are doing.
3. It is best is to have a friend with you when you go to an ATM.

Please let everyone you know about this incident. Especially now when it is so near the festive seasons. They are preying on your bonus and salary! So, beware!