Abstract: It is described a method for detecting the presence of a device for cloning a smart card in an automatic payment and/or withdrawal terminal, comprising the steps of detecting that a smart card has not been at least partially inserted inside a reader of the terminal; simulating the presence of a smart card inside the reader; measuring a current or voltage value generated by the simulation; comparing the measured current or voltage value with respect to a defined threshold value; detecting the presence of the cloning device if, as a function of said comparison, it results that the measured current or voltage value is greater than or equal to the threshold value; and blocking the operation of the automatic payment and/or withdrawal terminal in case of detecting the presence of the cloning device.