Keep Your Cards Close To Your Chest

The Bank of Namibia (BoN) has received six card cloning related complaints over the past year, with combined amounts reaching N$99 550.

“It’s prevalent in Windhoek as well as the coastal towns of Swakopmund and Walvis Bay,” says Victoria Muranda, Group Manager Corporate Communications at FNB Namibia.

“Windhoek is prime area to the syndicate by virtue of its population and the coastal town is frequented by tourists who are also the preferred target because the high limits on their debit cards,” Muranda said.

“There has been no significant increase in the last six months. [Although] card cloning has always been a problem. The figures fluctuate from month to month,” she said.

“There is always an increase in card cloning cases during high seasons, such as school and public holidays. For example, one would find an increase over December and January, a decrease during February and March, and again an increase during April and May,” Bank Windhoek’s forensic auditor, Ina Muir, added.

To address the challenge of card fraud, BoN says progress has been made with the migration of payment cards from magnetic strip to the more secure global standard for credit and debit payment cards based on chip card technology.

“This change in the payment cards is scheduled to be finalised by 31 December 2015. This means that the cards issued by all commercial banks by 31 December 2015 will be based on a standard called Europay Mastercard and VISA, or simply referred to as EMV standards. This new EMV chip and PIN card is an initiative introduced by the banking industry and will help address the problem of card fraud .

“The card has added benefit to reduce the use of stolen payment card data. This is because of the embedded microchip which makes the card more secure and the requirement that customers will only be able to use their card with a PIN.

“EMV changes the way debit and credit card transactions are authenticated, plus the embedded chip in each card can store data more securely than a magnetic strip.

“To authenticate a transaction, the person attempting the use of the card is authorised before the transaction occurs. Chip cards are more difficult to copy because the chip has unique security keys within it,” said Ndangi Katoma, Director of Strategic Communications and Financial Sector Development.

The banks all agree that if you suspect any interference at the ATM or your card was taken out of your sight at a Speedpoint, call your bank immediately to have the card cancelled. It’s safer to be proactive rather than only reacting after a loss has been incurred.

All banks are obligated to investigate any claim/dispute that clients report.

Through this investigation, if legitimate cloning can be confirmed, while at same time client negligence is ruled out, then an ex gratia payment (done from a sense of moral obligation rather than because of any legal requirement) can be considered.

“However, even if the card was genuinely cloned through our thorough investigation and we can determine that the client acted negligently which led to the loss, the claim will be declined, regardless of the amount,” Muranda further stated.

BoN said every bank must investigate every case reported to them in line with the Code of Banking Practice.

“Clients should be informed of the outcome of these investigations. In terms of the Code of Banking Practice, the commercial bank should investigate clients’ complaints within 15 working days. Clients who are not satisfied with the outcome of investigations may approach BoN for further investigation.”

Avoid becoming

a victim

Card fraud takes place every day in a variety of ways. You cannot always prevent it from happening, but you can create some obstacles and make it tougher for someone to get hold of your cards and card numbers. Treating your debit/credit cards and account numbers like cash will prevent potential fraud.

Here are a few pointers when making use of an ATM:

• Never accept assistance from strangers nor security guards stationed at ATMs

• Keep your ATM card and PIN in a safe place.

• Stand close to the ATM and block the view when you enter your PIN.

• Do not give your PIN to anyone.

• Make sure that the card you take from the ATM is yours.

• If you use an ATM after hours and you feel unsafe, rather leave and go to an ATM that is better lit.

Equally so, protect yourself against card skimming at Point of Sale terminal (Speedpoint):

• Do not let your card out of sight – rather follow the cashier if you need to complete the transaction somewhere else.

• Block the view when you enter your PIN on the keypad.

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