By BRIAN BERGSTEIN AP Technology Writer
> BOSTON (AP) -- By failing to scan security codes in the magnetic
> strips on ATM and debit cards, many banks are letting thieves get away
> with an increasingly common fraud at a cost of several billion dollars > a year.
> Surprisingly, Litan said, perhaps half of U.S. financial institutions
> have not programmed their ATM systems to check the security codes.
> Con artists specifically seek out customers of banks that do not
> validate the second track on the strip, she said.
A very large number of ATM's are owned by ATM companies, not banks, who provide ATMs in many convenience stores, stadiums race tracks and arenas, shopping malls and casinos. To blame the banks for what these companies do is disingenuous.
Wes Leatherock snipped-for-privacy@aol.com