What is the Lebanese Loop and how can this lead to theft at the ATM Machine?

The Lebanese Loop

This rather low-tech scam involves the installation of a blocking mechanism that makes customers believe their cards have been confiscated. It works by accepting the card and then not returning. As a customer punches their PIN into the bank teller machine, a camera or “customer in line” records the PIN information. At the end of the transaction, however, the card is not returned.

At this point, customers will often enter a banking institution to inquire about their cards. Avoiding this particular scam can prove difficult, but customers can safeguard themselves in a few ways. They can, for example, take care that people in line cannot see the entry of a PIN number onto a keypad. They can also scope out an ATM machine for any indication of tampering.

We would like to illustrate this by way of an actual example received and warn the public against this threat!!