Chip and Pin is here but the public is still vulnerable to card fraud
IT consultancy Detica warns fraudsters will continue to use mixture of new and old scams to get around our defences.
From Valentine’s Day a signature at the till is unlikely to be enough to authenticate a transaction.IT consultancy Detica argues that whilst this may make consumers feel safer, the reality is that the card fraud threat is still very much alive and consumers need to remain on guard – particularly as online and cardholder not present (CNP) fraud continue to rocket.
David Porter, Head of Security and Risk at Detica explains: “Fraud is like a balloon – you squeeze it one place and it bulges in another. That’s why according to APACS , Internet, phone and mail order (CNP) fraud rose by 29% last year and will likely do so by more in 2006. Many of these cases will be down to customers playing fast and loose with their card details – not destroying receipts with their card number on, giving their details to disreputable organisations and leaving their card behind a bar being just a few examples of bad practice.”
Porter continues: “It never hurts to reiterate basic common sense advice. First, people should never let cards go out of their sight. So if you’re in a restaurant, go with the waiter to pay at the terminal. Never write down a PIN, don’t share the same PIN between different cards and don’t choose easy-to-remember digits such as your date of birth. Also, when keying in the PIN at the till, make sure you shield the number you are typing in from those behind you. When shopping online and where possible, use Verified by Visa or MasterCard SecureCode, both of which make transactions more secure.”
“It’s not all doom and gloom – card fraud losses were actually down 13% last year due in part to chip and PIN. However, if this downward trend is to continue, the public needs to be more savvy about taking electronic fraud more seriously and using new security technology properly, and at the same time, technology companies need to evolve their security countermeasures to match the new directions taken by the fraudsters.”
