Banks react to card controversy

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HSBC and other banks have advised customers to change card PIN numbers (Getty Images)

Several banks in the United Arab Emirates have advised their customers to change card PIN numbers after it was found that thieves were using stolen credit card information to make purchases in the United States.

The latest scam was uncovered only when employees at the US Embassy and other American citizens residing in the UAE found that unauthorized purchases came up in their card statements.

HSBC, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD and National Bank of Abu Dhabi have all informed their customers of the scam and advised changing card PIN numbers as a precaution.

According to a statement released to the press, HSBC has requested customers to change their PIN numbers at any of their ATMs and have refunded the "small number of our customers that have been affected."

As the furor continues, all customers should remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to the right authorities.

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READERS' COMMENTS

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How did all the credit card information get into the hands of the miscreants?
Posted by Graham Plater, Munich, Germany on Thursday 11 September 2008 at 18:46 UAE time


In a word - electronically. So look hard at the credit card slot of your ATM and, if it looks in any way unusual (like there's an extra frame around the slot), leave your card in your pocket. It also pays to look up to see if there's a little electronic eye looking at the keyboard you type your PIN number on...

banks not telling us everything...
Posted by KrisZ, dubai, uae on Thursday 11 September 2008 at 15:04 UAE time

So how did all the credit card information get into the hands of these miscreants? Are the banks telling us everything? Was one of more of them hacked into and the information syphoned out?

Iris Scans are the solution to eliminating ATM Fraud
Posted by bankobserver, London, UK on Thursday 11 September 2008 at 11:29 UAE time

Banks should look to adopt more radical solutions such as the IrisGuard Bio Metric Identity Management solution as used by Cairo Amman Bank in Jordan, whereby customers do not utilise ATM cards. Rather they have their Iris's scanned by the bank so that when they use an ATM, Teller Position or online banking they are then verified as being the authentic user. In this way with no need for ATM Cards or PIN numbers fraud by a third party is impossible.

credit card scams
Posted by deirdre biltagi, santa ana, california on Thursday 11 September 2008 at 02:48 UAE time

When I used my ATM card at the national bank of Dubai at the Deira city center the screen told me AFTER i withdrew my money that my pin number was changed. i called my bank in the California and they told me my card number was not changed. i had previously had problems trying to take money out of my ATM card at that bank, i felt something was wrong immediately and took precautions to call the bank from Dubai to California to make sure my card was safe... it was.

Bank charges
Posted by Skand Bhargava on Wednesday 10 September 2008 at 21:50 UAE time

If you use teller services, you get charged - because the banks want you to use ATM machines. Unfortunately the same banks are unable to protect our accounts from being broken into via ATM machines. Banks should stop charging us for using the services of the man/woman behind counter. They should also allow us to block any transaction from ATM to take out money.

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