Fraudsters are increasingly targeting cash machines and home phones to strip your bank account of money.
Latest figures from the UK Cards Association reveal that fraud on lost or stolen cards totalled £25.7million in the first half of this year, a 20 per cent increase on last year, as conmen are put off by security measures for online bank accounts.
Here, Lauren Thompson describes the scams to watch out for . .
Someone watches you entering your PIN at a cash machine. They then distract you, steal your card without you realising and use the PIN to steal money. A less sophisticated technique is simply to pickpocket you after you have withdrawn cash.
Police have warned pensioners in Coventry about gangs targeting elderly people after they have withdrawn cash over the counter inside a branch. But it goes on all over the country.
DCI Paul Baynard, at the City of London police, warns: ‘Fraudsters will say, “You’ve dropped something” or, “You’ve got something on your jacket” and try to get the victim to bend down or turn around. Older or vulnerable people are more susceptible to this type of theft.’
Steve Proffitt, quality assurance manager at Action Fraud, a Government-funded advice centre, suggests: ‘Always be aware of people around you when using a cash machine. When you input your number, shield the keypad from any prying eyes.
‘If someone is standing too close, or tries to distract or help you in any way, do not use the machine. You may prefer to use cash machines inside banks, where staff are on hand and the machines are normally monitored by CCTV.’
BEWARE OF FAKE PHONE CALLS
Conmen — or women — ring you at home posing as someone from your bank. They claim there has been a fraudulent transaction on your card and that a new one will be delivered shortly.
You are then asked to ‘activate’ the replacement card by tapping in your existing PIN using the numbers on your phone. The fraudster is able to tell by the audio tones from the keypad what the numbers are.
Next, they call at your home, or employ a real courier company to pick up the old card and deliver the new one. The new card is a fake. But before you discover this, they have used the old card with the PIN and stripped your account of cash.
Other common telephone scams involve people pretending to be from the tax office, or a credit card company, and saying you are due a refund and asking for your bank details. Victims of these type of scams lost £8.6million in the first six months of this year — a 48 per cent increase on the previous six months.
Steve Proffitt says: ‘Remember no bank or government agency would ever ask for your bank details over the phone.
‘If someone calls out of the blue, simply hang up. If it is your bank, call them back using the number on the back of your debit card.’
But beware: if you do give out your PIN or any other security information to fraudsters over the phone, your bank is unlikely to refund you because it will argue you have been negligent.
Police have warned pensioners in Coventry about gangs targeting elderly people after they have withdrawn cash over the counter inside a branch. But it goes on all over the country.
DCI Paul Baynard, at the City of London police, warns: ‘Fraudsters will say, “You’ve dropped something” or, “You’ve got something on your jacket” and try to get the victim to bend down or turn around. Older or vulnerable people are more susceptible to this type of theft.’
Steve Proffitt, quality assurance manager at Action Fraud, a Government-funded advice centre, suggests: ‘Always be aware of people around you when using a cash machine. When you input your number, shield the keypad from any prying eyes.
‘If someone is standing too close, or tries to distract or help you in any way, do not use the machine. You may prefer to use cash machines inside banks, where staff are on hand and the machines are normally monitored by CCTV.’
BEWARE OF FAKE PHONE CALLS
Conmen — or women — ring you at home posing as someone from your bank. They claim there has been a fraudulent transaction on your card and that a new one will be delivered shortly.
You are then asked to ‘activate’ the replacement card by tapping in your existing PIN using the numbers on your phone. The fraudster is able to tell by the audio tones from the keypad what the numbers are.
Next, they call at your home, or employ a real courier company to pick up the old card and deliver the new one. The new card is a fake. But before you discover this, they have used the old card with the PIN and stripped your account of cash.
Other common telephone scams involve people pretending to be from the tax office, or a credit card company, and saying you are due a refund and asking for your bank details. Victims of these type of scams lost £8.6million in the first six months of this year — a 48 per cent increase on the previous six months.
Steve Proffitt says: ‘Remember no bank or government agency would ever ask for your bank details over the phone.
‘If someone calls out of the blue, simply hang up. If it is your bank, call them back using the number on the back of your debit card.’
But beware: if you do give out your PIN or any other security information to fraudsters over the phone, your bank is unlikely to refund you because it will argue you have been negligent.
FRIEND OR FRAUDSTER
Money Mail has received many sad letters from people conned by members of their own household. This commonly involves friends of their own children, carers and ex-partners.
Banks are often reluctant to refund these transactions, since they argue the victim is likely to have told the thief their PIN, or had it written down in the house.
Mr Proffitt says of this: ‘Never record or share your PIN with anyone, even your partner. ‘Remember anyone who has access to your home can easily obtain your card and spend your money online, since all they need is the card number and three-digit security code on the back. This happens quite often with teenage children, for example.
‘Check your bank statements rigorously to ensure no one is using your card in this way.’
WHAT ARE YOUR RIGHTS?
Banks must refund any disputed transactions, even if a PIN was used. For debit cards, FSA rules (regulation 60 of the Payment Services Regulations) state: ‘Your bank must immediately refund you unless it can prove you authorised the transaction, or prove you are at fault because you failed to protect your card details, PIN or password.
‘Use of your card, PIN or password does not conclusively prove you authorised it.’
For credit cards, the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (sections 83 and 84) states the customer is not liable to pay back any more than £50 if they have had their card details — including PIN number — stolen, or it has been lost.
This is providing the credit card issuer has been informed and the customer has not acted fraudulently or been grossly negligent.
If your bank does not stick to these rules, make a complaint. If you do not receive a satisfactory response within eight weeks, contact the Financial Ombudsman Service (0800 023 4567).
Money Mail has received many sad letters from people conned by members of their own household. This commonly involves friends of their own children, carers and ex-partners.
Banks are often reluctant to refund these transactions, since they argue the victim is likely to have told the thief their PIN, or had it written down in the house.
Mr Proffitt says of this: ‘Never record or share your PIN with anyone, even your partner. ‘Remember anyone who has access to your home can easily obtain your card and spend your money online, since all they need is the card number and three-digit security code on the back. This happens quite often with teenage children, for example.
‘Check your bank statements rigorously to ensure no one is using your card in this way.’
WHAT ARE YOUR RIGHTS?
Banks must refund any disputed transactions, even if a PIN was used. For debit cards, FSA rules (regulation 60 of the Payment Services Regulations) state: ‘Your bank must immediately refund you unless it can prove you authorised the transaction, or prove you are at fault because you failed to protect your card details, PIN or password.
‘Use of your card, PIN or password does not conclusively prove you authorised it.’
For credit cards, the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (sections 83 and 84) states the customer is not liable to pay back any more than £50 if they have had their card details — including PIN number — stolen, or it has been lost.
This is providing the credit card issuer has been informed and the customer has not acted fraudulently or been grossly negligent.
If your bank does not stick to these rules, make a complaint. If you do not receive a satisfactory response within eight weeks, contact the Financial Ombudsman Service (0800 023 4567).
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