Post Office ATM Anti-Fraud: Face Covering Triggers 120-Second Pause and Warning Sound

(Central News Agency, reporter Yu Xiaohan, Taipei, 9th) Chunghwa Post announced today that by the end of June, it will introduce a face-covering detection warning function on 46 ATMs located in fraudster hot spots. If a person wears a mask or other face covering while withdrawing money, the ATM will implement a 120-second operation suspension period. During the final 30 seconds, a warning sound will prompt the user to remove the covering. After the period ends, normal operation will resume even if the covering has not been removed.

In recent years, fraud cases have been frequent. Fraudulent cash couriers (車手) often wear masks or helmets to conceal facial features when withdrawing money from ATMs, making identification more difficult.

Chunghwa Post Vice President Tsai Wen-ching stated at a regular press conference that, to balance ATM convenience with warning effectiveness, the face-covering warning function will be deployed on 46 ATMs across 30 post offices by the end of June. The hope is that users will remove face coverings when withdrawing cash.

Tsai pointed out that if a user does not remove their face covering during operation, the ATM will suspend operations for 120 seconds. If the covering is not removed within the final 30 seconds, the ATM will emit a prompt sound. After the time elapses, the user will still be allowed to enter the transaction page and continue operation, even if the covering has not been removed, in order to minimize inconvenience to the general public.

Chunghwa Post operates 3,180 ATMs across Taiwan. Tsai said that the current deployment sites are all in fraudster hot zones. In August, the company will cooperate with the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) to expand the deployment sites.