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Alert on card skimmers
 Skimmed skint: DSIP Steve Baker displays a skimmer seized recently by CCB |
Keep an eye on your bank cards at all times, say Commercial Crime Bureau officers.
The warning came after the recent jailing of a man in the District Court, found in possession of a skimmer after a CCB investigation.
The small and complex devices can "skim" or speedily lift the data from the magnetic strip of a bank or credit card and memorise it. The stored information can then be transferred on to fake cards. If the PIN number has been compromised, it would then be possible to make cash withdrawals and EPS transactions using the counterfeit card.
The devices have caused concern in other countries, particularly in North America where customers were having their cards skimmed by shop and restaurant staff while paying for their purchases or bills.
A man aged 34 was found guilty on October 22 of one count of possessing equipment to make a false instrument and was sentenced to three years imprisonment.
 Keep an eye out: This is how the compact skimmers look up close |
Woman Detective Senior Inspector Szeto Suk-fong of the CCB Counterfeit and Forgery Division, said it was the second ever skimmer seizure by CCB. She said cards were being skimmed out of sight of victims while they were in shops and their PIN numbers were being observed. There was no way a skimmer could record a PIN number.
"It is important card holders keep an eye on their cards at all times and ensure shop staff only use them with a genuine payment machine. Try not to let people see what numbers you press when you input your PIN number. " The Division's Detective Senior Inspector Steve Baker said the devices were small and easy to conceal.
He added they were also very complex and needed careful handling once seized. It was believed skimmers seized so far were Mainland-made.
"There is a high degree of ingenuity which goes into some of these skimmers which contain memory chips. Some skimmers are set to erase the data contained in them if they are tampered with," Mr Baker said. The CCB Report Room can be contacted on 2860-5012 (24 hrs) for advice about counterfeit cases.
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