A handful of Airdrie business owners were given a crash course on credit and debit card skimming by Calgary RCMP Const. Lane Menard, Oct. 19.
The hour-long presentation featured a number of slides, hands-on demonstrations of tampered PIN pads and how easily fraud can be committed.
Last year, just under $500 million of credit card fraud was committed in Canada, Menard told attendees. Debit fraud was pegged at $119 million.
“It’s an endless battle,” he said.
“We close one door and they open another.”
By 2015, all PIN pads will be chip-card only, however, with that change more than three years away, retailers must remain vigilant against skimming scams, according to Menard.
Criminals can freely purchase skimming devices off eBay and it’s not illegal as the device is a part of credit card machines and is used by business owners to process gift cards as well.
Menard reminded everyone in attendance to constantly guard their PIN, check their online bank statements daily and change their PIN monthly.
He also reminded attendees not to enter credit card numbers manually because that is often how fraudsters work.
“I thought it was really good and informative,” said Brook Swanson, customer service and facility booking team leader for the City of Airdrie. “You don’t realize how easily it could happen.”
Swanson said she was surprised to hear how detailed the criminals get with their skimming efforts, adding she has never been a victim to a fraud.
“We have all our debit machines tied down,” she said.
She now plans to speak with her 30-person team, informing them of how easily a business can lose money and be bilked out of money.
Les Walker works in private security in Airdrie and said the session was eye-opening.
“I was surprised with the high-end complexities with the crime,” he said.
Some of those include blacklight scans that reveal special holograms on VISA and Mastercards. Experienced criminals will go as far as recreating the holograms. Menard taught participants how to spot these minute details.
