to wonder what the point was of introducing "chip and pin" if thieves can nick your card and swipe it without a password or pin?

[evilcherub]

I think it makes things easier for the banks but that's about it. Also, thieves can use special machines to "read" a card easily because of the new swipe technology.

[Oysterbabe]

You mean contactless? It's up to £30 though isn't it so they can't go on a huge spending spree.

[Sparklingbrook]

The onus is still on the cardholder to keep their card safe. Try not to let the thieves get their hands on it and if you think the card is lost or stolen cancel it asap.

Contactless is easier for the customer. The card never leaves your hand, no risk of leaving it in the machine, and the retail staff don't have to touch it. Quicker too.

[wasonthelist]

Banks and card issuers pretending to do something about fraud whilst spending as little as possible.

[SecretNutellaFix]

Total card fraud in the uk dropped when chip and pin was introduced in 2004.

People are committing card fraud in different ways- now there's more online abuse of cards,

[NeedACleverNN]

I love contactless! So easy when you've got a whinging baby who wants to get outside asap. No hesitating waiting for the machine to fire up, then entering your PIN number then waiting again. Nope just a touch and away you go.

Easy, peasy

[WorraLiberty]

My contactless cards are only up to £20.

They're brilliant for travelling, as I never have to spend ages looking for a shop with a working Oyster top up machine.

[AnchorDownDeepBreath]

Ego It's really small. The first 6 months of 2015 had £516,500 of fraud via contactless - that works out as less than 2p out of every £100 legitimately spent using contactless.

Mostly it's so low because there is always the chance of being asked to enter your PIN, so the transaction fails, and even if you successfully ran away from the shop, you'd be on CCTV. There's much lower risk harvesting card details online.

Skimming details is really over-hyped, too. It very rarely happens successfully.

[vickibee]

if you buy something fraudulently on line you need to have it delivered to your home address so surely they can find out who is the culprit? I have never worked out how this happens

I like contactless but worry about its security. Once in M & S I was in the queue and the machine scanned my card which was in my purse but close to the machine reader! instead of the real customer

[NeedACleverNN]

Once in M & S I was in the queue and the machine scanned my card which was in my purse but close to the machine reader! instead of the real customer

Well you was obviously too close to the customer then really wasn't you?

[Sparklingbrook]

You must have been really close to that customer vicki. Personal space and all that.

[wasonthelist]

if you buy something fraudulently on line you need to have it delivered to your home address so surely they can find out who is the culprit? I have never worked out how this happens
You can specify a different address for delivery. A pal of mine had this done to him, thieves bought a computer online using his card. He managed to find out the address it was delivered to, but the Police couldn't have been less interested. The bank refunded him and more or less told him to shut up. A lot of this is going unreported because the banks don't want it to be obvious how easy it is, and how very very very few people are ever caught and prosecuted for it.

Meanwhile we're all paying for it, like shoplifting and insurance fraud.

[mummytime]

Contactless is for a limited amount.

Applepay can be an unlimited amount, but needs your finger print.

[vickibee]

the other customer was my DSis and I was helping her pack her groceries, I suppose I was too close.

[scarednoob]

I did read that criminal gangs have been brushing up against people on the tube and nabbing £30 a go on contactless. now i'm always v careful about keeping my bag in sight, even if I am pressed into someone's armpit and someone else's crotch at the time.

[corgiology]

The value you can spend is set by the shop. So Lidl might have a £20 max whereas WHSmith might have £30.

Also you can make multiple transactions one after another. So lets say you buy something for £20 and then say oh I forgot this magazine. You can then pay the extra £3 separately.
So although there is a limit you can exceed it by splitting items.

Thus I suggest checking your bank account regularly. Even if you never pay by contactless.

[Shallishanti]

isnt there a limit to the number of transactions in a day?
and I think th bank monitors for unusual activity- say if my card was being used loads in a town 100s of miles away

[Puzzledandpissedoff]

Just to mention recent proposals that customers should in future meet the cost of frauds carried out against them: www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e335211c-2105-11e6-aa98-db1e01fabc0c.html#axzz4AtUKO2Wy

Admittedly they often try to wriggle out of it, but banks are currently supposed to cover this unless outright negligence can be proved. It's hardly encouraging to read that they want to avoid even this; after all, under such a system, what incentive would they have to maintain or improve customer security?

[Dawndonnaagain]

You can however, only make three transactions in one day, so currently the potential theft could not exceed £90.00.

[LurkingHusband]

The system is limited to 3 contactless payments in a row. After 3, you'll have to do a chip & PIN transaction to "reset" the counter. So the maximum you could lose if your card was stolen is £90.

You can improve your cards security by memorising, then obliterating (use a soldering iron) the last 3 digits (CV2) on the signature strip.

[StickTheDMWhereTheSunDontShine]

I did read that criminal gangs have been brushing up against people on the tube and nabbing £30 a go on contactless. now i'm always v careful about keeping my bag in sight, even if I am pressed into someone's armpit and someone else's crotch at the time.

You can get wallets with datashield in, if this worries you.

[ImNotJoeMyNameIsHarry]

I've used contact less quite a few times (about20) and used it five times in 1 day and never been asked for chip and pin so maybe it varies?

[LurkingHusband]

used it five times in 1 day and never been asked for chip and pin so maybe it varies?

A poster on another thread mentioned that for TfL use, it's unlimited. Which suggests that at some level it's dependent on who is assuming the risk of a fraudulent transaction. If it's the bank - 3 in a row - if it's retailer, it's up to the retailer. Presumably TfL (who aren't exactly lacking in the CCTV and own police force department) feel it's better to let people whizz through, than having (even more) queues build at the terminals.

[ImNotJoeMyNameIsHarry]

It was a pub I was in. Went 2 times for drink, 1 time for meal, 1 for dessert then another time to reorder the dessert as they had ran out. They refunded me in cash while I made my mind up.

[SisyphusDad]

LurkingHusband - like the idea of obliterating the CVV code. That sounds like a good security measure to me!

Wanders off to find soldering iron.