Criminals stole a total of GBP65 million last year through the use of a skimming device that could obtain information from the magnetic strip on the back of a card.
The increase of A located fraud has been said to be a consequence of the new chip and pin system, which has made it harder to use stolen cards in shops. Other fraudulent methods include using miniature cameras that can record pin numbers.
In an attempt to combat this problem new anti-skimming equipment has already been put into operation, but currently only one in four machines has the device installed. The industry hopes that the wider roll out of this technology will dramatically reduce cash machine fraud.
David Smith, deputy information commissioner said: Banks really do need to concentrate their attention on customer security – it’s about protecting information and the problems that customers can face if their information gets into the wrong hands.
Sandra Quinn, from the Association of Payment and Clearing Services (APACS), said: As you cut off one route for fraudsters they exploit another. So as we made sure that all shops had chip-and-pin equipment, fraudsters weren’t able to use counterfeit cards there, so they doubled their efforts at cash machines.
