SmartDebit Respond to Increasing Number of People Falling for Telephone PIN Scams

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SmartDebit

(PRWEB UK) 2 January 2013

According to The UK Cards Association and Financial Fraud Action UK, a telephone scam has caused more than £7.5 million worth of fraud on credit and debit cards between January and August 2012. During this period, over 1,600 people have fallen victim to the scam, with average losses per case standing at £4,200.

The scam works by the criminal calling the person posing as their bank, or the police, claiming that there has been fraudulent activity on your account. The criminal tells their victim that their credit or debit card needs to be collected and replaced as a result. According to the police, the criminal reassures the individual that this is a genuine call by asking them to hang up and call the bank directly for confirmation. However, the fraudster remains on the line, hoping to trick the victim into thinking they are on a new call and the person on the end of the line is their bank.

Posing as a bank representative, the fraudster then asks the victim for their PIN or to key the PIN number into their telephone keypad. The fraudster then sends a ‘courier’ to collect the card for which they now have the PIN.

The police have warned of a rise in the number of reported cases, with data showing the estimated amount stolen via this method of fraud over the first eight months of 2012 was already ten times the amount stolen throughout 2012.

SmartDebit have nearly 20 years’ experience in the payment processing industry. With security and resilience at the heart of the organisation, they continue to highlight the fraudulent practices affecting the UK's consumers. A spokesperson from the Bureau commented on the telephone scam:

“We are used to warning the public about more sophisticated and technological methods of fraud, however, the ‘simple’ methods cannot be ignored. Although the findings reveal that the criminals are targeting the elderly and vulnerable bank customers, more than one in ten bank customers in the UK do not realise they should never reveal their PIN to anyone. We would like to urge bank customers to never hand their card to anyone, never share their PIN and always be sure they are speaking with their bank by waiting for a dial tone and dialling the correct advertised number.”

About SmartDebit

SmartDebit is the UK’s leading Direct Debit Bureau, specialising in payment processing services since 1998. A Bacs approved Bureau, scoring ‘Excellent’ in all five categories of the Bacs audit, and ISO 27001 compliant. Providing a complete range of services: Outsourcing; SmartDebit-Admin cloud based portal; SmartDebit-Online payer sign up; SmartDebit-API integrated solution and SmartDebit-Contingency.

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