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February 24, 2009
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| With bank machines now often involved in a number of different crimes, such as kidnapping for ransom and voice phishing, the police are tightening their watch on ATMs. The Korean National Police Agency said yesterday that it is currently studying Japan’s example, where cell phone use is jammed around ATMs in order to prevent voice phishing. The scam entices people to give up their account or credit card numbers by offering fake financial rewards. Earlier this month, the police announced that they will discuss with financial institutions the introduction of a facial recognition feature for ATMs. The measure would be part of a comprehensive public security plan established in the wake of the murders by confessed serial killer Kang Ho-sun. Kang, hiding his face in a mask, used an ATM to withdraw money from the bank accounts of one of his victims, a female college student he said he kidnapped and killed in Gunpo, Gyeonggi. But ATMs with such advanced fatures still come with a litany of problems. Facial recognition machines were once test-run by several banks in 2005. Users were confused by a string of instructions such as “Raise your head, please” or “Step up to the machine, please,” before being able to access their accounts. The disabled had even more trouble. Cost is another issue. Upgrading existing ATMs costs about 100,000 won ($67) per machine, and there are over 79,000 ATMs across the country. Plus, jamming cell phones around ATMs is a technical headache. “In Japan, only four out of 59,000 bank offices in the country have adopted the measure,” said a National Police Agency official who declined to be named. “It is technically impossible to jam the exact one or two meters of electric waves, meaning that such a measure could inconvenience the general public,” he added. By Kang In-sik JoongAng Ilbo [spark0320@joongang.co.kr] |
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