The Irish Payment Services Organisation has renewed its appeal to people to use extra caution when using ATM machines, following a number of incidents of card fraud, or skimming, in recent weeks.
The incidents occurred mainly in the South and South West.
Skimming is the most prevalent form of counterfeit card fraud, where account details from a card's magnetic stripe (the black line on the rear of the card) are electronically copied onto another plastic card.
This 'duplicate' card is then used fraudulently to buy goods and to pay for services in the original cardholder's name.
IPSO says that in some instances, the fraudster will attempt to obtain the PIN number for the card that is being skimmed and will use the replica card to withdraw funds at the ATM. A small number of skimming devices have been recovered from ATMs recently and the Gardaí are currently conducting a full investigation.
People are being advised to watch out for any damage to the ATM or obvious sticky adhesive that may have been used to attach a skimming device to the ATM. IPSO also urges people to shield the screen and PIN pad so that anyone waiting to use the ATM cannot see the PIN or transaction amount.
