8 May 2006
Customers of Shell petrol stations have been the victims of a chip and PIN card scam, according to a consumer watchdog.
Which? said that fraudsters were able to steal over £1 million from Shell customers after debit and credit card details were copied, enabling them to raid their victims' accounts.
Shell has now suspended the chip and PIN machines in 600 of its stations across the UK, Which? said.
A device implanted into some machines enabled criminals to copy card details and use the stolen details to make purchases at non-chip and PIN outlets, often overseas.
Sandra Quinn, a spokesperson from the UK payment association Apacs, told the watchdog: "They have used an old style skimming device. They are skimming the card, copying the magnetic details - there is no new fraud here.
"They have managed to tamper with the PIN pads. These pads are supposed to be tamper resistant, they are supposed to shut down, and so that has obviously failed."
Get a fast and accurate comparison of all the UK credit cards on uSwitch.com. In just minutes we'll give a list of credit cards suitable for you
© 2008 Adfero Ltd
Content for the uSwitch.com market news service is provided by a third party, Adfero Ltd. Whilst uSwitch.com makes reasonable efforts to check the reliability of this content, uSwitch.com does not guarantee the accuracy thereof or endorse the views or opinions given by Adfero Ltd, unless expressly stated otherwise.