Avoid This Crucial Mistake If Your Bank Card Gets Stuck In An ATM Machine

In addition to worrying about finding an ATM that won't charge withdrawal fees, you might also need to prepare yourself for the unnerving experience of an ATM gobbling up a debit card. If you haven't had this happen to you before, the experience can be troubling in many ways. Your first instinct might be to look around for 'shoulder surfers' or scammers since thieves can install covert skimming machines on POS devices, at gas station pumps, and even on ATMs. These are often designed to read your card details as it is inserted, allowing criminals to capture your payment information. However, it's also not out of the realm of possibility for an ATM machine to simply malfunction and keep your card instead of returning it.

Panic over this kind of activity can result in a significant mistake when using an ATM. Whether an ATM fails to spit out your cash or the card you used, the most important thing you can do is remain calm. Even if the device has taken your card deliberately, that does not mean your debit account, or money, are also gone. If you run away out of fear, or otherwise leave your card in the machine, you could be inviting more problems into your life. There are plenty of largely benign reasons why your card might get stuck in an ATM machine, so the most important thing you can do if this happens is to stay put and explore potential options to fix the issue. Leaving, and especially leaving quickly, can compound the problem.

An ATM is a sensitive piece of machinery. It's both a hardened safe and digital cash counter. This means it's imbued with plenty of security features, both in preventing physical and digital breaches — including the ability to capture your bank card under certain circumstances. If you have lost your card to an ATM machine, it's possible it was a deliberate security measure. While you might not be happy about this feature in the moment, if your card ever ends up in the hands of a thief, you'll be glad that these machines can essentially 'steal' your card back!

One way that your card may be kept within the machine is if you enter your PIN code incorrectly too many times. This is a sure sign of illegitimate use in many cases, so don't be surprised if the card eventually stops coming back out if you persistently input the wrong PIN. ATMs can also keep your card if other suspicious activity has been detected, for instance worrisome online access that coincides with strange ATM usage. However, it's also possible for an ATM to experience a fault or glitch. It's a machine after all and problems with its power source, or even sheer bad luck at the same time you're using the service, can result in the device keeping your card due to an error, reset, or other internal failure. This means there is a possibility the machine will return your card after it is finished resetting.

Once you've calmly assessed the situation, there are some potential troubleshooting options to try. For starters, try pressing cancel a few times on the machine. This may ultimately clear up the potential fault, returning the card back to you in the process. Keep in mind that you may have to wait up to 15 minutes to see if your card comes back out, especially if the machine is resetting. If it still doesn't, you should get to work on some specific tasks.

Get out your phone and take detailed notes of the event. Write down the time and place that the loss happened and note any serial numbers, identification features, and other markings you find on the ATM machine in question. Take pictures if you can, and make sure you note the state and specifics of the screen. It might be frozen or totally black if there's an issue not related to security. Once you have as many details as you can collect, your next port of call should be your closest bank to get a new card issued — and to discontinue the lost one.