# Contactless credit cards new warning



## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Seems fraud via contactless cards is on the increase. Even though the banks know it's happening they are still pushing these cards onto us.
But a simple form of protection is here.....................
http://money.aol.co.uk/2016/12/01/p...-grid7|main5|dl1|sec1_lnk2&pLid=-576382584_uk

Ray.


----------



## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

I know little about these cards, although observing customers paying by any card in Poland I reckon 50% of card payments are now with these.

I am baffled(often some may say) to know why they are described as 'contactless', as I see everyone placing them on the reader screen i.e. in contact.

They do seem to speed up payment and the queues, but so does cash, at least here, because the staff seem to be more capable of counting and calculating change than the average check-out assistant in UK - who are amazed when one hands over correct amount for 4-5 items

I thought they were originally introduced for small payments - e.g. newspapers, confectionery etc., and one just loaded small amounts so fraud was limited. Has that all changed?

Geoff


----------



## listerdiesel (Aug 3, 2012)

£30 limit for most in the UK, Geoff.

Peter


----------



## caulkhead (Jul 25, 2007)

I use contactless wherever it's available. I just wave the card across the machine, about an inch from the screen and hey presto there's another 30 quid gone! It's just so easy to spend money these days :surprise:


----------



## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

nicholsong said:


> I know little about these cards, although observing customers paying by any card in Poland I reckon 50% of card payments are now with these.
> 
> I am baffled(often some may say) to know why they are described as 'contactless', as I see everyone placing them on the reader screen i.e. in contact.
> 
> ...


They are contactless Geoff, they only need to be in close proximity, but people have weak arms and can't hold those heavy cards up for long   so the poor lambs need to rest the cards on the device.


----------



## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

listerdiesel said:


> £30 limit for most in the UK, Geoff.
> 
> Peter


Peter, thanks

Just been informed by Basia that our Debit cards carry a symbol which looks like a radiating transmission, which indicates that it can be used as a contactless card - live and learn, but I was never asked if I wanted that facility. It is also on my UK card, but I am sure my UK bank never gave any information about it, nor the limit.

Seems a bit sneaky - I shall make some enquiries.

Geoff


----------



## cabby (May 14, 2005)

What range does one have tube at the point of sale to be able tomuse the card,I thought it had to be around 2 inches, sorry 5cm. So how close does a reader have to be to scan it when in your pocket.

cabby


----------



## paulmold (Apr 2, 2009)

You can request a non-contactless card from your bank.


----------



## Mrplodd (Mar 4, 2008)

Geoff

You will need to use your contactless card in an ATM (cash, balance or whatever) because you will, at that point, be required to enter your pin. That confirms that the right person is in possession of the card (it's a security function in case the card goes missing in the post)

Once you have used it once in any ATM it will work as a contactless one. If you have never used it in an ATM it cannot be used contactless (but will still work by placing it IN the terminal and entering your PIN. 

I was very anti initially but once you get used to it transactions are much quicker. 

Andy


----------



## Spacerunner (Mar 18, 2006)

Kev_n_Liz said:


> They are contactless Geoff, they only need to be in close proximity, but people have weak arms and can't hold those heavy cards up for long   so the poor lambs need to rest the cards on the device.


Count me as a poor little lamb then . Since the bank issued no user instructions I'd always thought that the card had to be laid across the screen. 
Mind you they are a touch on the heavy side! :laugh:


----------



## peribro (Sep 6, 2009)

I think they are wonderful and much more secure than using a debit or credit card in the traditional way where you have to enter a pin number often with people within watching distance. As the article says that Ray linked to "the UK Card Association says there has never been a confirmed report of money stolen from a contactless card while it's still in the cardholder's possession in the UK"

I now use Android Pay on my phone instead of cards and I think that's even better still! Plus you can use it for up to £100 although above £30 you have to verify your identity by entering your pin, pattern or fingerprint on the phone.

Another point in the favour of contactless cards is that the bank will refund you if you lose your card and it is subsequently used. Try getting the bank to refund you if you lose your wallet with £200 cash in it!!


----------



## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

I guess I just like the physical actions of using any credit card. Plus the months free credit. But the warning by the police has made me put a sheet of aluminium foil inside my wallet. 

Ray.


----------



## Geriatricbackpacker (Aug 21, 2012)

I think the time to worry will be when your bank sends you a FREE and unsolicited card sheath for you to put your card(s) in. As for the accidental payment by your card for someone else's purchases. If you are that damn close to the card reader (about 2 inches) when someone else was paying then I would say you are courting a punch on the nose let alone a false payment.


----------



## peedee (May 10, 2005)

If you lose it anyone can use it until you report it lost? If that isn't bad enough, it strikes me as being open to fraud as well.
peedee


----------



## 4maddogs (May 4, 2010)

This comes round every so often! I am amazed that some people actually use a new fangled engine to drive their MHs!


----------



## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

This from 2012 but have the banks done anything to prevent it happening today.?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/9163969/Barclays-contactless-cards-exposed-to-fraud.html

But this is more recent.................................
UK tops European charts ... for carder fraud
One more reason to stop worrying and love the Brexit
9 Aug 2016 at 06:02, Darren Pauli
The United Kingdom has copped the largest jump in credit card fraud of all European countries with an 18 per cent rise resulting in £88m ($114m, A$150m) of additional losses.

Blighty outpaced fraud growth in Greece and Denmark where fraud increased by five percent according to Euromonitor International data mapped out by big data company FICO.

Much of the additional losses in the UK are thanks to data breaches and fraudulent online transactions, rather than ATM skimming.

Some 75 per cent of the lost cash is due to card-not-present fraud, where CVC numbers on the back of cards are not required, of which more than half was conducted in online transactions.

That form of fraud has bottomed out in Portugal where authorities have it "fully under control".

All told the UK contributed to some 43 per cent of all card fraud losses across the 19 European countries studied.

Ray.


----------



## peribro (Sep 6, 2009)

peedee said:


> If you lose it anyone can use it until you report it lost? If that isn't bad enough, it strikes me as being open to fraud as well.


In fact contactless cards can be used in some circumstances even after you report the loss. But the fact remains that if you lose your wallet full of cash then anyone can spend that - the only difference being that you don't get it refunded by the bank. And incidentally many banks will refund you at their discretion even if you lose the card and it is fraudulently used before you report it.


----------

