Barclays credit card clamping down on fraud

Barclays Bank is working hard to clamp down on card fraud across its ATM network, spokesman Barnaby Davis has said.

Mr Davis' comments come as figures point to an 85 per cent rise in fraudulent cash withdrawals over the past year.

One form of the crime involves a card-trapping device, with the fraudster 'shoulder surfing' the card user to obtain details of their PIN.

The newer high-tech version involves using a device to skim a user's card details together with a pinhole camera focused on the keypad to obtain PIN details.

Speaking on BBC Radio Four's 'Today' programme (6.23am), Barnaby Davis said that his bank was "almost immune" from the low-tech version of the crime as a result of its network of "relatively new ATMs".

He added: "The skimming attacks were something new so we have been working very hard with suppliers, customers and different parties particularly APACS on a range of solutions to prevent the fraud from happening."

It was important for consumers to stay vigilant and be aware when choosing a cash machine to use, he said.

"Pin security is absolutely essential, and we urge customers to think very carefully when putting their number into the machine to be very aware of anyone standing behind them, to be much more aware perhaps of the actual machine that they are using and to be on the lookout for suspicious devices."

Stating that his bank was keen to reimburse customers who lost out to fraud, he said that every case was looked at individually.

He added: "Because it was a new type of fraud, one of the things that we immediately did was to try to work to reduce the time that it takes to refund the customer."

The cost of fraudulent cash withdrawals rose to £61 million over the past year, according to the latest figures.