Japan installs cellphone jammers near ATMs to prevent fraud

If you're tired of being scammed at ATMs by kind, gentle-hearted con artists (and then forgetting it ever happened), you'll be stoked to know that Japan is looking out for you. Chiba Bank has installed phone signal jammers at four unnamed ATMs at bank branches in the Tokyo region, and while it has gone down as the first institution to go to such lengths, we highly doubt it'll be the last. It's not entirely clear what exactly the criminals were able to convince people to do via mobile, but it's probably something like "psst... get me out some cheddar and meet around back." Not that we have any experience in the field or anything...

[Via textually]

[nerdtalker @ Dec 10th 2008 7:57PM]

I don't understand how this helps prevent fraud, partially because the article doesn't explain how the scam involving a cell phone actually *works*...

[nerdtalker @ Dec 10th 2008 8:15PM]

From a different article:

Elderly people using cell phones at automatic teller machines in banks, convenience stores, and train stations are being questioned by police in Japan during a month-long nationwide anti-scam campaign.

The October effort is to prevent senior citizens from becoming victims of phone swindles. In one kind of scam, con artists call the elderly, convince them that a family member – usually a son – is in trouble, and money is needed to settle the matter. Often the swindler convincingly poses as the desperate son.

Scammers had instructed seniors to withdraw cash at the bank and bring it to a specified location for the handover or wait at home for the money to be picked up.

When bank tellers started to become aware of the fraud, they began asking senior citizens about large withdrawals at the counter. Subsequently, the fraudsters started sending the elderly to ATMs, either to withdraw cash, or to electronically transfer funds from the ATM to the swindler’s acccount, all the while giving their targets instructions via cell phone. Victims were sometimes told to send the cash by postal packet or express delivery service.

[dale1v @ Dec 10th 2008 8:15PM]

dude, have you not seen the latest season of prison break?!

[Testies, Testies, 1, 2... 3? @ Dec 10th 2008 8:47PM]

You obviously are amateurs! They are clearly taking videos of the pin numbers being entered, then video messaging their constituents... So this will clearly prevent that from happening until 15 feet later.

Then again, the public that walks and talks will not habitually avoid the pocket of dead zones, resulting in fewer impulse ATM withdraws, thus resulting in the ATM no longer being profitable... Now that'd be a true financial crisis!

[Ken @ Dec 10th 2008 9:01PM]

Yeah because we all know that cell phone cameras don't work when there's no signal. You graduate highschool with that logic?

If I were a thief, I'd take advantage of this the old fashioned way. Face-to-masked face. No calling the cops when the bank jams the cell signals.

[mark @ Dec 10th 2008 9:38PM]

I posted the original phone-jammer story at my Lets japan blog. That article contained links to stories I'd written with details about the scams. (nerdtalker quoted one, above). http://www.letsjapan.markmode.com/index.php/2008/10/24/public-cops-watch-elderly-at-atms/

And here's a nice image illustrating how the elderly get conned. The image is on a Japan banking organization's website:
http://www.zenginkyo.or.jp/topic/sagijiken_kanpukin/index.html
- Mark
Publisher, Lets Japan

[pomotaro @ Dec 11th 2008 4:12AM]

Article is off-track: in Japan it is possible to put money in some other people's bank account via ATM, so the scammer tells the elderly via phone to draw the money and then put it in his account. sorry for bad english.

[Jeremy W @ Dec 10th 2008 8:02PM]

So when you get robbed at an ATM, and try to call the police, your phone won't work. Good thinking!

[Trevor @ Dec 10th 2008 8:04PM]

It's not like you couldn't walk 10 feet to the right and make the call. Also if somebody was robbing you I doub't you'd have time to call the police, nor would the police be there in time to save you.

[Ethan @ Dec 10th 2008 8:46PM]

Hopefully they aim the antennas so it only jams the cell modems bolted onto the ATM to steal your card info and not any phones you might have on your face.

[ctgaffney @ Dec 10th 2008 10:04PM]

they would be of even better use if scattered throughout a movie theater

[higeki @ Dec 10th 2008 10:18PM]

This is Japan, not America. In the 7 years I have lived here, I have never heard of anyone ever being robbed at an ATM. Trust me, if it ever did happen, it would make national headlines. That's how rare ATM robbery by gunpoint (or any other weapon) is.

[Trevor @ Dec 10th 2008 8:02PM]

Don't they use "digital wallets" in japan? I know a lot of people pay for things with rfid cards in their cellphones. Maybe that has something to do with it?

[trevor @ Dec 10th 2008 8:09PM]

damn, we have the same name..........

[Trevor @ Dec 10th 2008 10:54PM]

Don't forget me!

[Trevor @ Dec 11th 2008 2:02AM]

I'm greater though.

And to keep on topic, I have a very hard time seeing how this is going to do any good whatsoever.

[trevor @ Dec 11th 2008 7:18AM]

(just shoot me now)

*sigh* just don't go off actin a fool and giving us trevors a bad name

[skyblaxe @ Dec 11th 2008 7:33AM]

lowercase-sonic-trevor ftw!

[Austin K @ Dec 10th 2008 8:04PM]

I believe this works on the premise that some card swipers that would be placed over card slots on ATMs to steal numbers operate over cell phone networks to phone home the stolen numbers.

[JB @ Dec 10th 2008 8:22PM]

...that is the most logical reasoning - so a card skimmer can't transmit the numbers to the thieves computer, etc.

[Zapp @ Dec 10th 2008 9:39PM]

Unfortunately, if you're smart enough to be running cell-connected skimmers you're probably also smart enough to cover the jammer with a sweet grounded metal box that effectively silences it.

[acme @ Dec 10th 2008 11:57PM]

the card swipers used on atm's used to store data and the thief needs to come back to retrieve them, Nowadays they use sms to transfer all the info in real time....don't ask me why i know this kthx.

[iKurt @ Dec 10th 2008 8:11PM]

I, for one, welcome our Chiba jamming overlords.

[Menos @ Dec 10th 2008 9:01PM]

i, for one... would like you to make sense please

[marty.com.au @ Dec 10th 2008 8:11PM]

well, in Australia in the big citys there are ATMs in every block from one bank or another, so this would be a totally bad idea as you try and talk to someone as you walk down the street and you phone cuts out every 20 meters.. sort of taks the "mobile" out of mobile phone...

[marty.com.au @ Dec 10th 2008 8:12PM]

Quick, ham his name so you dont get scammed...

[marty.com.au @ Dec 10th 2008 8:17PM]

1) that was @ Trevor and trevor.
2) stupid comment system not putting the replies under the right reply..
3) pwned by lack of 'edit key' and my poor typing skills... I mean Jam not Ham..


Arrg... I give up...
ps. I wonder what spot this reply will randomly appear under...

[trevor @ Dec 10th 2008 9:08PM]

it's all good. i uploaded an avy so as soon as engadget wakes up ill atleast have a different picture

(ironically tho my real name isn't trevor... not even close)

[Zapp @ Dec 10th 2008 9:34PM]

What would be a name that is "close" to Trevor?
Plevor?
Shevor?

[marty.com.au @ Dec 10th 2008 9:46PM]

@ Zapp

Easy. Trevor -> Trogdor the Burninator

[Lowest Ranked @ Dec 10th 2008 8:12PM]

Time to dust off the o'le Pringles can signal booster.

[Christian @ Dec 10th 2008 8:16PM]

I can only assume it's either through scamming or maybe their cellphones in Japan are so advance that it can be used for stealing money through ATM...

[Ian Whelan (JOIN BAND!) @ Dec 10th 2008 8:18PM]

Crap, they're on to me!

[otaking241 @ Dec 10th 2008 8:19PM]

There's been a rash of confidence scams in Japan recently involving somebody calling an elderly person claiming to be 1) a loved one in need of immediate cash or 2) someone from the police or government claiming that they or someone close to them owes the government money. The Japanese generally save large sums of money in savings accounts, rather than investment portfolios, and it's not uncommon for a scammer to get the equivalent of $20,000 or more from a single person.

The cell phone jammers at the ATMs are meant to prohibit the scammer from giving their account info to the victim for a direct transfer, the way these are usually done. It's become such a problem that there are numerous PSAs and commercials warning the elderly about the scam, as well as signs at mos ATMs asking anyone who sees an elderly person on the phone at an ATM to inform a staff member immediately.

Not a matter to be taken lightly, though the jammers might be a bit of an extreme measure.

[Andy T @ Dec 10th 2008 8:21PM]

Going with Austin K on this one... most likely thieves are utilizing cell networks to transmit data... probably via txt message/email.

[Rubbinz @ Dec 10th 2008 8:25PM]

I'm sure this will work out well after you've been shot in the back and you're laying crumpled in your own blood trying to call for help on your cellphone under the ATM.

[higeki @ Dec 10th 2008 10:16PM]

Good luck finding a gun in Japan. If you're lucky enough to get one, you're not going to waste the opportunity shooting people in the back at ATMs.

[Artie Lange @ Dec 10th 2008 8:38PM]

That little sign that explains prohibited behavior is so cute and friendly. Maybe if the TSA used manga characters in their literature, people wouldn't hate them so much.

[Crooked Style @ Dec 10th 2008 9:03PM]

What if you need to call someone to pick you up because its raining and you can't then suddenly when you get home you catch a cold and bronquitis and the next day you die.

[cragger @ Dec 10th 2008 9:14PM]

Fail. Everyone knows that the Japanese have augmented their society with widespread merging of humanity and technology. Bionically enhanced cyborgs don't get Bronchitis.

[AndyS @ Dec 10th 2008 9:56PM]

What they are probably trying to thwart are skimming devices that are installed over the card reader and keyboard to capture card data and PIN entry and are increasingly using wireless transmitters including cell phone guts to send out the data. The old method required the crook to have to come back and pick up the device to retrieve data, and therefore face the risk getting caught if somebody had noticed the device. I saw a security bulletin the other day with a European ring selling these things pre-fab for use around the world.

Even if it was legal to jam signals in the states, you'd never see it used here as it's a pretty double edged sword. Could you imagine the lawsuit when someone gets robbed (or worse, killed) but can't call 911?

[higeki @ Dec 10th 2008 10:14PM]

You guys got it all wrong. This is how the scam works. Somebody calls an old person hoping that they're gullible enough to believe that it's a long lost relative calling them. Japanese ATMs have a feature where you can wire money directly to anyone's account with a push of a couple of buttons. This is how I pay for my bills and auctions here. So if somebody calls someone and says "I'm your long-lost neice, I need money because my son is sick..etc etc etc" The old person feels bad. They stay with them on the phone and walk them thru how to transfer the money. The scammer sets up a dummy account under a fake name and then withdraws the money.

This is Japan where people aren't used to being scammed (indirectly) and where the honor system is the general public mentality. I have lived here for years and when I first got here I was paranoid like any other American, but after a while I realized there was no reason to be. It's so much more safer here.

[henry @ Dec 10th 2008 10:22PM]

In other countries Not the USA. When you go to the atm. you then have to call in and the bank will give you a random (one time use pin) for you access to your bank account. The bad guys would try to listen in on this conversation between you and the bank teller. and then try to be a robber on your bank account. With the Cellphone jammers that old trick will be a thing of the past... at least till someone hacks this system. Its just my 2 cents.

[Volvagia356 @ Dec 10th 2008 11:22PM]

I think it's the "Hey! It's me!" scam. The scammer will first call an elderly person and claim to be his son/daughter/etc. Then, the scammer will tell the elderly person that he's in trouble and needs a large amount of money and asks the elderly person to go to the ATM to transfer the money. Of course, the elderly person might not remember the account number to transfer to so the scammer will tell him/her when (s)he reaches the ATM. The purpose of the cell jammer is to block the phone signal so that the scammer would be unable to tell the elderly person the number to transfer to so the scam is prevented.

[derek @ Dec 11th 2008 3:19AM]

Might be to stop that ore-ore scam.
Devious criminals phone old people saying
"its me, its me!.. I'm a bit strapped for cash"
"for the kids and all, you know"
"What? of course you know me. Its me.... Listen, I'll meet you down at the ATM ok?"

something like that. (so I heard from a japanese person.....)

[derek @ Dec 11th 2008 3:21AM]

Ooops sorry Volvagia356... Looks like you got there before me......

[Vassilis P. @ Dec 11th 2008 5:03AM]

Allow me to enlighten you all!

As you very well know, scammers install their own "systems" right on the top of the ATM card slots, so when someone sweeps his/her card, the frauder gets all tha data he needs (obviously this works better with elderly people as it is more difficult for them to distinguish the fake slot on the top of the real one). Normally then, the crook would pick up that "system" later, get the data using a computer and use a different ATM to get the money. Nowdays, though, because of the cameras installed on nearly every ATM and bank, it is very dangerous for the crook to return to the ATM and pick up his "system". Therefore, they use their "systems" to SMS the data of the card to a mobile phone whithout the risk of getting gaught picking up the "system".

Therefore cellphone jammers are being installed just to prevent that!

Ta ta!

[Simon @ Dec 13th 2008 3:11AM]

Amazing work!

Shame it is 100% wrong.

It is about the problem of elderly people (who have lot's of savings!) being called up by people pretending to be their son in trouble and asking them to transfer cash using the ATM (you can transfer cash to other people's accounts using the ATM here in Japan).
i know a woman here in Tokyo who received such a call. She said the scammer said it was her son, but he was in the living room, the scammer hung up immediately!

[Vassilis P. @ Dec 16th 2008 6:12AM]

You are joking... right?

Read on > http://www.engadget.com/2008/10/10/atm-skimmers-now-with-sms-notification-built-right-in/

[kevin @ Dec 11th 2008 6:59AM]

Now we just need to install those at every cash register, so the people stuck working behind it (myself formerly included) don't have to fight with your cell phone for your attention while you're ordering/paying for things.