Opinions | Editorials

Card users to be careful

The level of credit card fraud is currently low, but its frequency could rise.

  • Gulf News
  • Published: 00:00 August 9, 2006
  • Gulf News

The UAE is probably a lucrative market for ATM fraudsters. A country with a high per capita income, a large floating expatriate population, but not with the most advanced banking practices. Two days ago, the Sharjah police warned citizens to be wary of people offering help at ATMs, after one such person cheated another of some cash. The incident comes a couple of months after fraudsters hacked into a local bank's ATM and succeeded in stealing details of some 1,000 cardholders.

This is certainly a worrying development. The level of credit card fraud is currently low in the UAE but it looks as if its frequency could rise, as in some developed markets. While it is important for card users to be careful while using ATM machines, banks and trade establishments need to upgrade infrastructure as well. The greater use of chip and pin cards and the camouflaging of card numbers on all types of card statements would help against such fraud.

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