ISLAMABAD: Multiple social media messages and posts, which have garnered tens of thousands of views, said that pressing the ‘cancel’ button twice following withdrawing money from an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) will stop an ATM PIN theft.
However, the claim is not true. A social media user on Instagram claimed that withdrawing cash from an ATM, do remember to press the ‘cancel’ button two times before you leave. Otherwise, cyber attackers can hack your account. The social media post has been shared more than 42,000 times and also liked over 20,000 times to date.
However, IT experts said that pressing the ‘cancel’ button twice following completing a transaction at an ATM will not stop cyber-attacks or ATM scam.
Fact-check
An IT expert at a local bank in Karachi told a local television on the condition of anonymity that the ‘cancel’ button’s main function is to conclude the current transaction and prepare the ATM system for the next customer interaction. He added that the customers do not need to press the cancel button again following completing a transaction, as it is designed to close the transaction automatically once it is done and concluded.
Another expert called the social media claims a “hoax” which must be “ignored”. The expert explained that if a bank does notice any “malicious system action” it informs its customers and users via proper channels. A spokesperson of the bank also rubbished the social media claims as “false”.
