Going to the ATM to raise money, consulting the balance or making a transfer is a trivial routine to millions of Portuguese. However, apparently normal situations can hide increasingly frequent burla schemes. One of these situations is the card that suddenly gets stuck in the machine. When this happens, there is a little known button from the ATM that can help to wrap major damage.
A discreet and effective scheme
According to bank safety experts, one of the most common slogans involves the placement of devices that hold the card in the ATM. At this point, someone approaches to “help” and take advantage of confusion to observe the PIN code or change the card to a similar one. When the victim realizes what happened, the bill may have been compromised.
The button that can block the card
The functionality has existed for several years, but remains unknown to most users. In certain multibanco machines, keeping the “cancel” button pressed for more than five seconds can trigger a security protocol. This simple gesture nullifies the operation and temporarily blocks the card, preventing it from being used until new bank authorization.
According to information collected from bank technicians, this functionality is active mainly in more recent models and can be decisive in suspicious situations, such as abnormal delays, not responding as usual or absence of card reading sound.
What to do in case of a burla
If it suspects it has been the target of a fraud attempted, the authorities’ recommendation is clear: contact the bank immediately to block the card, confirm the latest movements and, if necessary, file a complaint with the police authorities. Even when there is no money survey, the attempted slogan should be reported.
Also, never accept help from strangers, as cordial as they present themselves. According to, most of the schemes occur with the ATM boxes in public places and with some movement.
Information as a form of protection
Although there is no public statistics on how many turns have been avoided with this gesture, the truth is that its use has been promoted by banks and security entities. The gesture of keeping the “cancel” button may seem insignificant, but may be enough to protect your bank balance.
Generalization of this type of simple tricks can help reduce the number of frauds, especially in the most movement months, such as summer, when there is a higher circulation of tourists and a more frequent use of multibanco terminals. It is a simple, free measure that can avoid considerable disorder.
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