Nice Loans.co.uk > News > Threat to Chip and Pin Details

Threat to Chip and Pin Details

According to a study for a BBC consumer program the chip and pin system is not infallible. Researchers from Cambridge University have found that chip and pin details can be intercepted and stolen during a transaction on the high street.

A card payment machine can be doctored such that card details will be sent to an external accomplice via a wireless connection. The account details can then be used to make up a fake card for further purchases. Apparently it is not a particularly complicated or expensive process and of course fraudsters can be as clever as academics.

However, this type of fraud can only succeed if a member of staff inserts a card into a machine which has previously been tampered with. The in house member of staff then has to alert an accomplice somewhere outside the store. According to the Association of Payment Clearing Systems (Apacs) this series of steps makes this method difficult to achieve. While it does pose a potential threat, there is no evidence to suggest it is about to occur in reality. Apacs believe that other types of potential fraud are more of a worry than this latest scam.