Protect your PIN

While other countries are more used to dealing with bank card fraud, many Australians still believe that we are untouched by the crime here. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. In modern Australia it is becoming more common place for fraudsters to attempt to capture PINs using hidden cameras or ‘shoulder surfing’ techniques.

Once these criminals have obtained a PIN, they will then try to steal the card from their target. Using a technique called ‘card skimming’, a target’s card details can be captured illegally from a card’s magnetic stripe and used to produce counterfeit cards. With all the necessary pieces the criminals can make one large withdrawal from their target’s accounts, or proceed more slowly with small, hard to spot, withdrawals over a period of time.

What can you do?

In Australia many people still feel uncomfortable about covering the keypad when they enter their PIN, especially when a shop assistant is looking. However, if more and more people begin to cover their PIN entry, then the practice will become the norm rather than the exception.

There are two golden rules to protect your PIN:

• cover your PIN entry with your hand anytime you enter it on a keypad;
• never tell anybody what your PIN is.

What can we do?

We take all instances of fraud very seriously and believe that it’s important to educate our members and the public about the importance of keeping their PINs safe. If you suspect you have been the target of a fraud attempt change your PIN immediately and contact us as soon as you can.