Tears of a clone

By JO THORNHILL
Updated:

 

HALIFAX customer Maria Mendez kept a close eye on her bank card and would never dream of telling anyone her PIN number.

null

So when £1,590 vanished from her account in cash machine withdrawals, she assumed it was the bank's mistake.

But Halifax said she must have let someone have her number. In fact, after a lengthy dispute and the intervention of Financial Mail, it emerged that Maria is one of a growing number of victims of a high-tech card fraud.

'I was absolutely devastated when Halifax refused to refund my money,' says Maria, 26, a surveyor from Highbury, north London.

'It's such a lot of money and I had not done anything wrong. I have never written down my PIN and I have never given it to anyone. What's more, the cash machine withdrawals were made in a part of London that I don't visit.'

It turned out that Maria's card had been 'skimmed' - copied by a device that can read data on the magnetic strip. This is not a new crime and it is easy to become a victim. The device, which can be bought for less than £100, is unobtrusive and takes only seconds to use. Then the cloned card is often used over the phone to order goods.

But criminals will go to greater lengths to steal from bank accounts. By standing behind a customer at a bank machine - known as shoulder-surfing - they can watch the PIN being tapped in.

Halifax spokesman Jason Clarke says: 'It is rare to have both a cloned card and a PIN, which is why this claim was rejected at first. The thief must have known Maria and skimmed her card, then followed her to a cash machine.'

Skimming cost financial institutions £148.5m last year and now accounts for most card fraud. Banks and card companies hope to fight this crime by issuing only microchip-embedded cards by 2005. Shoppers will also have to tap in a PIN when they pay.

Until then, cardholders can protect themselves with these steps:
• Never let your card out of your sight. Try always to use cash in pubs, restaurants and petrol stations or any place where your card might be taken away to be swiped.
• Be careful typing in your PIN at a cash machine - someone might be looking over your shoulder.
• Never write down your PIN.
• Check your bank and credit card statements carefully for evidence of fraud.
• Don't discard old bank statements or receipts that have your card number on them - thieves can use numbers to buy items over the phone or the internet.
• If your card is stolen, lost, or you believe fraud has happened, call your bank immediately. Provided you have not been negligent, all losses from fraudulent transactions will be paid back into your account.

The Association for Payment Clearing Services website - www. cardwatch.org.uk - has advice on card fraud.

Most watched Money videos