"Digital Pickpocketsâ€
Contactless card theft: Users warned to watch out for "digital pickpockets."
17:13 18 February 2016
A Facebook post showing a man on a public transport holding a mobile card reader has caused an alarm to the public. It was claimed that the man uses the device to steal money by keying an amount into the terminal and holding it against the pockets of unsuspecting targets.
However, there’s not much context to the picture and no enough evidence to suggest that the man is a new kind of “digital pickpocket."
However, it is possible to steal money this way that’s why some people got worried.
If a thief is using a GPRS-enabled machine, he can easily “skim” cards without the victim knowing about it.
However, merchants that use this type of machine are required to register a business account, making the criminal traceable if a victim noticed an illegal transaction.
Banks can offer refund in such cases and the criminal’s account will most likely to get shut down. However, by that time, the money may never be recovered.
To avoid this from happening, members of the public are encouraged to invest in RFID-blocking card sleeves that prevent cards from being read by scanners.