News

500 bank accounts affected by skimming devices

February 18, 2016 5:39 am

More than 500 credit and debit card holders have been affected by skimming devices – machines that capture PINs and other bank card details.

The Financial Intelligence Unit confirms there are foreign nationals who’ve been able to obtain details by fraudulent means using ATM and EFTPOS machines.

Director Razim Buksh says there’s been an increase in the number of skimming cases since June 2015.

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The last major and carefully orchestrated incident occurred in December 2015 and affected more than 500 credit and debit card holders.

An attempt to conduct ATM skimming in January 2016 was successfully foiled.

Buksh says the FIU is assisting the Fiji Police Force in their investigations and is working closely with the Association of Banks in Fiji to ensure that measures are in place to detect and prevent future incidents.

He adds cardholders to exercise caution at ATM and EFTPOS machines, when accessing their bank accounts online and when conducting on-line purchases or payments.