Gee, it sure sounds logical to me.

I know locally some kids were caught and identified because they were sticking gum into the ATM just to be "cute". The security cameras caught them and they were identified. Kind of hard to imagine being able to install that reader and not being seen.

My theory....

I imagine the camera is on a loop, where they have say, one week's worth of video, and is overwritten by newer video. So...if a crime occured yesterday, they could get tape/DVD and review it (like the gum incident). But since there is probably no one "live" watching the tape (why would they?), if someone came in and put in a reader, unless there was a reason to look at the tape...overwritten

I would hope major banks aren't that oblivious to tampering with their ATMs. They do regular checks on them, also, so this should not go unnoticed. I still don't think the OP's situation makes any sense at all (I'm not questioning the veracity, just the idea that all this occurred solely from someone finding out the PIN, the card was never lost, and all these withdrawals were done at bank ATMs).

I think banks do check their ATMs regularly for tampering, at least any reputable bank does (I thought I'd read at least weekly -- maybe whenver they fill it up). There is reason to have security staff review cameras routinely, I'd think, but I don't believe that is the only way they could uncover something. YOu could just hire some lowly paid clerks to scan the film, at least in questionable locations, and at least a sample. I would hope banks aren't throwing away film evidence within a few days, but don't know how long they keep it.

Quite a while ago I read a post on here by someone who would write a false PIN number on the back of their card. If it was physically stolen, the thief would probably try various combinations of those numbers and eventually (isn't it usually three?) the ATM would freeze the account and keep the card. Sounds like a great idea to me!

I'd rather not give the name of our bank in the US since I'm not sure I can't be sued for that! I will say that on Friday, when I reported the fraud to the bank, the answer to both me and my husband was "We're not responsible for the charges made". My husband asked how they could have let such a strange series of withdrawals slip by and was told that "the bank does not monitor its customers' accounts". Today, on the other hand, we were told that the money will be replaced in our accounts.
They are also notifying all the banks in London where the withdrawals were made, so I won't bother any more with trying to contact Lloyd's myself.

Rmkelly313,

Congratulations. You can't win unless you stick to your cannons and keep firing.

BTW, truth is an absolute defense to libel or slander in any court of law, in the USA. Say what you want as long as you have the facts. Whether Fodor's will keep it posted or not is another matter entirely.