Got this from my officemate.

PLS. BEWARE OF THIS ATM MODUS OPERANDI!!!

We may already have heard about this scam many times before, but sometimes we forget and need to be reminded, especially this coming Christmas season..

I was withdrawing last Saturday, Nov 17 10pm at a Bank of Commerce ATM near McDonald’s corner Pasong Tamo and Gil Puyat in Makati. There seemed nothing wrong with the ATM but no cash came out of the machine. I automatically thought it was just a machine error and that my account was debited because when I checked my balance, it was deducted by the amount I was supposed to withdraw.

But since I wanted to be sure and I needed cash, I waited for a few more seconds and carefully checked where the cash should come out. I noticed a light blue steel bar where the cash dispenser should be and looked underneath it. There was no outlet where the cash should come out. Suddenly remembering the ATM scams I’ve heard about, and now feeling sure that that bar shouldn’t be there, I took a photo of it then tried removing it from the machine. It had to take a lot of effort but when I finally got the bar off, I was surprised to see my money caught in the bar with black glue (probably put inside the bar to keep the cash from going ack to the machine).

So please, please carefully check the ATMs you use and as much as possible withdraw only during daytime, or on guarded ATMs to avoid eing scammed. Please forward this to as many people as possible to warn them.