Police in NSW have formed a new strike force to combat a skimming operation suspected to be targeting ATM and EFTPOS machines this weekend.

Although details have not been released, banking officials confirmed a police notification was issued Friday, warning them to monitor accounts that may have been compromised. Cardholders of course should monitor their own accounts for suspicious activities and report them to the police.

If cardholders are uncertain of the security of a transaction, they are advised to sign for the purchase rather than enter their PIN.

Steve Batten, a representative for Commonwealth Bank, confirmed the alert but could not say if customers of the bank have been affected.

“We will monitor potentially compromised accounts and contact customers to change their PIN. If this is not done in 24 hours, we reduce the amount that can be withdrawn from an account,” he said.

A skimming operation captures credit and debit card data when the card is swiped through an EFTPOS device or inserted into an ATM. The data is then used to create a fraudulent card, which thieves use to empty the account.

Skimming sometimes involves capturing the data on the card’s magnetic strip. The new contactless credit cards, which replace the magnetic strip with a tiny chip and enables transactions through miniaturised transmitter-receiver technology, has the potential to reduce skimming frauds such as this one and perhaps even eliminate them.

Source: brisbanetimes.com.au