How Should HR Handle an ATM Card Theft Incident in the Office? Seeking Advice on Prevention and Communication

Dear All, I am working as HR in a private company, which has a staff of about 100 employees. Recently, one of our employees lost his ATM card in the office, and money was withdrawn from the ATM. He claims someone stole it and has requested HR to take action. This is a very delicate issue, and I am unsure how to proceed.

Preventive Measures for Security Incidents

For future prevention of such incidents, what precautionary measures can be implemented? Please advise on how to draft an email to all employees regarding this matter, ensuring the message is delivered in a gentle manner.

Please assist me in composing the email.

Regards

I hope the employee has already informed his bank and got the card blocked. You may advise the employee to register an FIR with the local police station. Since it is a matter of the reputation and involvement of your company, please advise the employee that he should not claim that it was lost within the office unless he is absolutely sure about it and can supplement it with proof or witnesses.

You can circulate an email to the employees in the usual manner of "Lost and Found" notices. If you wish to avoid such incidents in the future, you may alert all employees not to bring anything valuable to the office, to take care of their belongings, and that the office does not take any responsibility for the loss or damage to any personal belongings.

Warm regards.

Dear Ranganathan L,

The ATM cards do have a Personal Identification Number (PIN) which is secret and confidential. Without it, no one can withdraw money.

Even if money is withdrawn, give a written complaint to the nearby police station. Take a copy of the same to the Bank Branch Office and request them for the footage of the ATM Centre. Since they have the recording, the time of money withdrawal from the ATM can also be tracked. It is a long process, but it would certainly identify the culprit, and you can recover the money from them.

If some insiders are involved, they will confess before you take the matter up to the police, or maybe the employee might be lying to you also. Anyway, you can find the truth.

Just circulate the mail for Lost and Found, a couple of days post the action that is to be taken as new: such as "Today we have lodged a police complaint and within two days we will be having the video, etc., of the ATM and find the culprit." This will help you.

Further, please educate your employees to register their mobile numbers with the bank so that all transaction details are available to them.

Regards,
SIDMAN

Thank you, Sidman. Please let me know how to draft an email on this issue to all employees in a polite manner. I would appreciate it if I could get a template.

Regards,
Ranganathan L

Dear All,

One of our employees' ATM cards has been missing or misplaced since this morning. We kindly request your assistance in the search, and if you happen to find it, please hand it over to me directly or leave it at my desk.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Regards,
HR Dept

Dear All,

I am working as an HR professional in a private company with around 100 employees. Recently, one of our employees lost his ATM card in the office, and an amount was withdrawn from it. He believes someone stole it and has requested HR to take action. This is a sensitive issue, and I am unsure how to address it.

For future prevention, what precautionary measures can we implement? I seek guidance on how to communicate this to all employees in a gentle manner.

Please assist me in drafting an email on this matter.

Please contact the concerned bank and cross-check the records with them. Since most of the ATMs have CCTV, it will be easier to trace the culprit.

Cheers,
Anirudh

[QUOTE=Ranganathan L;1270811]

HR needs to contact the bank from the computer to trace where these funds/money have been withdrawn. Most ATM machines have cameras; therefore, you can determine the time of the withdrawal and identify the person making the transaction to catch them.

Another important step during the investigation of theft is to cancel the card by informing the bank.

Please don't issue any such emails that will demoralize employees in general. Employees are not children to complain, and they know how to safeguard their belongings. However, please ask the concerned to file an FIR and also complain with the bank.

General Email for Employee Awareness

To insulate yourself from these kinds of complaints in general, a general email can be issued:

"It is hereby informed that employees are responsible for their personal belongings, and the company is not liable for theft/loss inside the premises. Hence, all are requested to take care of their belongings."

Dear Ranganathan L,

Some of the ATM booths have the facility of a webcam, so if you check with that, you may track who withdrew the money. However, not all banks have this facility.

Dear All,

First of all, we need to know if the card was lost by the person in the office or somewhere outside before making a complaint to the police. Additionally, if a complaint is made, it should be in the individual's name and not on behalf of the company.

Furthermore, it is important to clarify whether the person making the complaint has good character or is creating any issues that may disrupt the entire unit.

Thank you.

I agree with the draft of Ms. Koneru Jyothi. It delivers information to the employees in a sensitive yet effective manner. Additionally, you can include a message advising employees to be cautious with their belongings as the company will not be held responsible if they lose any valuables. I also recommend that employees file a police complaint to track the offender.

It is possible that the individual did not withdraw the money. These ATMs can be used at various locations, and he might have easily made a transaction and forged the employee's signature. Once the employee files a complaint, they can obtain footage or images of where the transactions took place.

Thank you,

Swapna

Dear Ranganathan,

It is the responsibility of the individual to take care of their belongings. The employer cannot be responsible for the same. When an employee finds that their ATM card has been lost, it is advisable to contact the concerned bank immediately to block the card. Almost all banks advise not to keep the PIN and card together to avoid unauthorized ATM withdrawals.

Prevention is Better Than Cure

Hence, kindly communicate to your employees to inform the bank immediately if the ATM card is lost. Besides, the company is not liable for any theft or loss of the same.

Regards,
Shiv Pal

It is a well-known fact that no withdrawals can be made from an ATM without knowing the PIN number of the individual.

There are instances when employees tend to help each other. One employee carries the ATM cards of many employees and is also given the secret PIN number by respective employees. They insert the ATM cards one after the other by logging the respective PIN numbers, withdrawing the money, and handing it over to the concerned employees.

It is possible that such an employee tends to change the PIN number uniformly to avoid confusion.

Check if that employee who has lost the card has handed over his card at some point to any of his colleagues. This will give you a clue.

If he admits that he has done so, then half of your problem is solved. You can straight away tell him that his act is not permissible and the company is in no way responsible.

But you can advise him to lodge a police complaint in any case and, as suggested by other colleagues earlier, also ask him to give a written complaint to the bank.

Pass all this information through the grapevine (known information passing employees) and you may see some light.

Regards,
M.V. Kannan

Dear Ranganathan L,

Just a thought, but if your employee is alleging that the card has been stolen within the company, then the matter should be referred to the police as a potential theft has been involved.

Finn

Dear All,

Thank you for your suggestions. The matter has been resolved, and the person has credited the amount to his account. The individual who credited the amount is from the same department. We are facing another issue as all the employees want that person to take necessary action.

Regards,
Ranganathan L

Dear Mr. Ranganathan, It is important for you to act now. Gather evidence that he was the one who withdrew the money and subsequently deposited it in his account. But what happened to the stolen ATM card? Was the deposit made using the ATM card that was reported stolen, or was the deposit made by transferring the money from his account to the person who lost the ATM card?

If the employee who deposited the amount does not agree that he withdrew the amount using the lost ATM card and then transferred the amount to the account, and if you take action, he is likely to state that he did not withdraw the money from the account. He may claim that he had only repaid the loan drawn from the previous employee by transferring the money to his account. Therefore, draw a correlation that the money withdrawn and the money deposited is the same. I faced a similar situation earlier in my career.

Good luck!

Regards,
M.V. KANNAN