Greetings all

Scam yes, hoax no – according to prominent urban legend researcher Barbara Mikkelson. Read her take on the subject (with sources cited) at http://www.snopes2.com/inboxer/scams/atmtheft.htm.

It has the look of being fake (no idenfication of source of warning for one)

but describes a hazard that is possible. That is not to say, of course, that every time an ATM is down or swallows a card that a scam is in progress.

(From an ex-bank employee).