Card cloning thieves target Black Country shoppers

Victims said they had been contacted by their banks, who told them criminals had attempted to withdraw cash from their accounts in Pakistan.

Prior to them being targeted the victims had used their debit cards at a shops and cashpoints in Sedgley, and all said they had used the cash machine at the town's Midcounties Co-Operative store.

The claims were made on community Facebook site Spotted: Sedgley.

Christine Jones, aged 51, of Kinloch Drive, Dudley said she had used her card at cash machines at the Tesco Express in Highland Road and the Co-Op store just before Christmas and had then received a phone call from her bank, Santander, asking her to get in touch because of fraudulent activity with her account.

She was told someone had tried to withdraw £160 in Multan, Pakistan, but the transaction was stopped by the bank and her card has been cancelled.

However, the incident meant Mrs Jones, who lives with her husband Alan, could not withdraw money from cash machines as she had to wait at least 10 days for a new card to be sent.

She said: "I can't get anything out for that period of time. I have to go up to the bank in town if I want to withdraw cash."

Adam Wilkins, aged 27, of Dudley Road, Sedgley was another victim.

He said: "It was a bit of an inconvenience, but my bank, Barclays, sorted it all out for me."

He said staff at the bank told him he was not the first customer to visit complaining about card cloning and advised him to look out for somebody using a landline phone if he was paying for items using his card in a shop, as this could be a sign that fraud was taking place.

He said he believed his card had been cloned at the Co-Op store in Sedgley, adding that an attempt was made to withdraw £66 from an address called 'New Muslim LMC' in Pakistan.

Alan White, a spokesman for Barclays, said fraudsters could clone the magnetic strip and pick up the PIN, but could not clone the card's chip, adding that if they then attempted to use the cloned card in the UK, the system would pick up the fact that the chip was incorrect.

He believed that as the attempt to withdraw the cash had been made in Pakistan, the bank's IT systems would have detected an unusual transaction, especially if the previous attempt to withdraw money from the account had been made in the UK only a few hours before.

"We have got a very sophisticated fraud detection system in place and we have notified the customer and he has told us that the transaction was not genuine," Mr White added.

The Midcounties Co-Operative said the firm had not received any complaints about the cashpoint.

Spokeswoman Jessica Dingley said: "We have not received any reports of card cloning at the cash machine at our Sedgley store. We would advise anyone using any cash machines to be vigilant and alert a colleague immediately if they see something suspicious."

West Midlands Police said the responsibility for dealing with card cloning incidents lay with the banks.

The website Financial Fraud Action provides consumers with advice on minimising the chances of their card being cloned, which includes standing close to the cash machine and shielding the keypad to stop others seeing your PIN and to cancel a transaction and move to another machine if somebody is trying to crowd you.

Also, to be vigilant for evidence the machines had been tampered with or devices fitted and to shred any cash machine receipts, mini statements or balance enquiries.

For more information, visit www.financialfraudaction.org.uk.

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