Desjardins Group has developed a new measure to counter ATM fraud due to cloned access and debit cards. The security check is the first of its kind in Canada.

The anti-fraud measure was developed in response to an elaborate Internet scam that cloned the Web sites of Bank of Montreal and Mouvement des Caisses Desjardins in order to trick customers into providing their personal account information.

Hackers posing as representatives from the two banks circulated spam e-mails this week, inviting people to click on an Internet link for a chance to win $500. Instead of taking customers to the home pages of BMO or Desjardins, however, the link whisked them to look-alike Web sites where they were asked to enter their bank card numbers and passwords.

Starting September 14 for all Desjardins ATM deposits over $1,000 and withdrawals over $400, members will have to confirm their identity by typing their date of birth (day and month). A wrong answer will cancel the transaction.

Deposit and withdrawal amounts are cumulative, and cover all accounts linked to a single Desjardins access card up to $1,000 in deposits and $400 in withdrawals per day.

Desjardins Group is the first financial institution in Canada to establish this kind of security measure at its ATMs,” said Eric Lemieux, vice president, electronic access and payment services. “It will enable us to considerably reduce card copying fraud in our ATMs and the inconveniences suffered by caisse members who are victims of these acts,” he added.

This security measure applies only to transactions carried out by caisse members at Desjardins ATMs.