On August 16, Frederick Ognibene went to the ATM area at a Citibank branch and activated one of the.

On August 16, Frederick Ognibene went to the ATM area at a
Citibank branch and activated one of the machines with his Citibank card,
provided his personal identification code, and withdrew $20. When he approached
the machine a person was using the customer service telephone located between
two ATM machines and appeared to be telling customer service that one of the
machines was malfunctioning. As Ognibene was making his withdrawal, the person
said into the telephone, “I’ll see if his card works in my machine.” He then
asked Ognibene if he could use his card to see if the other machine was
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On August 16, Frederick Ognibene went to the ATM area at a
Citibank branch and activated one of the machines with his Citibank card,
provided his personal identification code, and withdrew $20. When he approached
the machine a person was using the customer service telephone located between
two ATM machines and appeared to be telling customer service that one of the
machines was malfunctioning. As Ognibene was making his withdrawal, the person
said into the telephone, “I’ll see if his card works in my machine.” He then
asked Ognibene if he could use his card to see if the other machine was
working. Ognibene handed his card to him and saw him insert it into the
adjoining machine at least two times while saying into the telephone, “Yes, it
seems to be working.” When Ognibene received his Citibank statement, it showed
that two withdrawals of $200 each from his account were made at 5:42 PM and
5:43 PM, respectively, on August 16. His own $20 withdrawal was made at 5:41
PM. At the time, Ognibene was unaware that any withdrawals from his account
were being made from the adjoining machine. Ognibene sought to have his account
recredited for $400, claiming that the withdrawals had been unauthorized.
Citibank had been aware for some time of a scam being perpetrated against its
customers by persons who observed the customer inserting his personal
identification number into an ATM and then obtained access to the customer’s
ATM card in the same manner as Ognibene’s card was obtained. After learning
about the scam, Citibank posted signs in ATM areas containing a red circle
approximately 21 _2 inches in diameter in which was written “Do Not Let
Your Citicard Be Used For Any Transaction But Your Own.” Was Citibank required
under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act to recredit Ognibene’s account on the
grounds that the withdrawal of the $400 was unauthorized?

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