In Reply to: ATM Hawks posted by Danbali on Sunday, 4. September 2005 at 01:54 Bali Time:
The problem with many ATM's in Indonesia is that they do things in a different order to most other countries.
They give you the cash before giving back your card, so if you get distracted, it's easy to walk away and leave your card behind.
Worse still, many machines, after giving you the cash, will ask: "Do you want another transaction?"
If you have walked away and left your card in the machine, whoever comes along next will simply have to press the "yes" button, and then withdraw as much as the machine allows in one transaction. They don't have to know your PIN.
I assume that's what happened to you. You left your card behind, and someone noticed and hit the "yes" button, and then withdrew the maximum. They would have been asked again if they wanted another transaction, and of course they pressed "yes" again. There's probably a limit to the amount of transactions in one session. I'm guessing the limit is four.
They don't need any high-tech gear or fancy pickpocket techniques for this. Just someone who isn't used to the system and isn't fully focussed. I've done the same thing myself, but luckily the next guy in line noticed and called out to me as I was walking away.