Scammers are using card skimming devices to steal shoppers' contactless details
6 September 2019, 13:25 | Updated: 6 September 2019, 13:53
A new video shows criminals stealing card details using a 'skimming device'.
Shoppers are being warned about a scary new scam which allows criminals to steal contactless card information using just a handheld skimming device.
A video shared online shows two people walking up behind members of the public in a shopping centre and waving the gadget over their back pockets and handbags.
The device is able to scan card details without anyone suspecting a thing meaning the thieves were able to do an online shop.
Downloading the information onto their laptop, the duo then copied and pasted the card number and expiry date and used it to buy a phone on Amazon.
They were then able to spend a whopping £1,047 in just a few minutes.
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The theft victims were refunded and all their details were deleted, but the company which created the video - SkimSafe - have said it shows just how easy it is to copy card information.
Skimsafe makes cards which protect contactless cards from being skimmed, and it’s founders, Björn Granberg and Carl Martinsson say that Britain is currently experiencing a fraud 'pandemic'.
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Almost five million people had money stolen from their bank or credit card account in 2017, at a cost of around £840 each.
In data released from Compare the Market last year, it revealed more than £2bn had been taken from about one in 10 British adults.
More than a quarter of these frauds took place online with 27% of victims not knowing or remembering how they were hacked.
Mr Granberg told DailyMail: “If this was an increase in the number of measles cases, it would be described as a pandemic and the WHO would issue a warning.”
He added: “It's staggering that remote card fraud increased a phenomenal 47 per cent, that's almost doubled, since the year before and nearly a 400 per cent increase since recording of these types of crimes started in 2011.”
