South Africa: Credit Card Fraud Increase in Natal

This is according to South African Banking Risk Information Centre (Sabric) commercial crime head Susan Potgieter. She was speaking at the start of the organisation's provincial card fraud awareness campaign in Durban last week. Potgieter said criminals were predominantly using counterfeit cards to commit fraud in the province.  "As compared to previous years, there has been quite a dramatic increase in the number of incidents where counterfeit cards have been used to commit card fraud. This shows that criminals have now chosen to make counterfeit cards rather than using lost or stolen cards."

Counterfeit cards are manufactured by criminals who gain access to information on legitimate credit cards by using a skimming device. The device copies encoded data from the magnetic strip of a card, which is then used to make a counterfeit card. Potgieter said the hot spots where credit card fraud was most prevalent in KwaZulu-Natal included Durban, Pietermaritzburg, Westville, Pinetown, Empangeni and Richards Bay.

She said there had been a significant increase in card fraud being committed at petrol stations in the province. "This trend is probably owing to the increase in the fuel price. Other areas where card fraud is committed are grocery stores, liquor stores, furniture and equipment stores, and at restaurants." She said criminals in KwaZulu-Natal were using the cards to make purchases of higher amounts, compared to criminals in other provinces.  "They are able to do this because they are using counterfeit cards and it takes customers quite a while to discover that they are being defrauded."

Despite the increase in card fraud, KZN police have said they have recently had success in cracking syndicates operating in the province.
Potgieter said Sabric was looking to work with the government to regulate the importation and distribution of skimming devices. "It is a problematic issue because skimming devices are used for legal purposes as well. But we want to work with the government to regulate the distribution of these devices," she said.

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