Credit card fraud doubles as fraudsters go hi-tech
The South African Banking Risk Information Centre (Sabric) announced earlier this week that credit card fraud cost the country R420m over the last 12-months. This represents a 146% increase on the previous year. Sabric chief executive Kalyani Pillay says the picture is frightening: “Fraud on RSA issued credit cards has increased by 146% between 2005/2006 and 2007/2008 – [though] this increase should be understood in the context of a huge rollout of cards by South African banks into the market.”
There are approximately 25.5 million debit cards and 7.2 million credit cards in use in South Africa at the moment. Pillay notes that while lost and stolen cards are often used in this type of fraud, the biggest loss occurs through the use of counterfeit cards. “This card fraud type is the single biggest contributor to overall card fraud losses in 2007/2008,” said Pillay. Criminals used counterfeit cards to secure goods and services amounting to R118.3 million in the latest period. So don’t be too surprised when retailers ask to see proof of identity when you make purchases using your credit card.
Be vigilant at ATMs
The question is how these criminals go about creating counterfeit cards. It’s not as difficult as you imagine. Fraudsters simply use a hand-held card scanning device to make a copy of your credit or debit card when you make a payment. This stage in the fraud usually occurs at restaurants, hotels and other places where your card is taken from view when you present it for payment. This card information is then sold to syndicates who use the magnetic data to create a ‘clone’ of your credit card… And it’s this card which is subsequently presented for fraudulent transactions. Card reading machines are apparently easy to come by – something confirmed by the number of hand-held skimming devices retrieved by banks recently. In the 2007/2008 year local banks seized 254 such devices.
Another category of fraud that’s on the rise is online fraud. Criminals use so-called ‘key tracking’ software to steal log-in details when unsuspecting users transact their banking and other online purchases from ‘public’ computers. An article published on the UK-based Mail & Guardian website says that 60 people were arrested after an international investigation by the FBI. They were all linked in some way to a ‘member only’ website which shared information on stolen credit cards, instructions for committing online fraud and what equipment was needed to commit such fraud. In one case a criminal had purchased £250 000 worth of goods using stolen cards over a six-week period.
The ‘chip and pin’ solution could bring false security
Pillay says “the success of most bank card scams that we see doing the rounds in the country really depend on the response of bank customers to the advances of the fraudsters.” The best defence to being taken by such scams is for consumers to be vigilant when using their credit cards for payments. And that brings us to the topic of the new chip technology that those in the industry claim will significantly reduce card fraud. We’re totally confused by the claim – and here’s why.
Banks are forever telling us to be vigilant at ATM machines when making cash withdrawals. They warn that the standard modus operandi of card thieves is to steal your card after they’ve watched you enter your pin. With the ‘chip and pin’ credit card these thieves will have infinitely more opportunities to watch you enter your pin – and as many chances to steal cards in the ‘friendly’ environment of the local store. To suggest the ‘chip and pin’ will reduce credit card theft is rather naïve.
Editor’s thoughts:
The ‘chip and pin’ card makes it more difficult for the so-called card scanners to do business. They will no longer be able to use the cards they ‘clone’ unless they also get the users pin number; but we doubt this minor detail will deter criminals. They’ll simply up their game and make sure they ‘see’ the pin when the scan the card… Do you think the so-called ‘chip and pin’ will reduce fraudulent card transactions? Send your comments to [email protected]
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