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Hi, Would be interested to know if anyone else has experienced card cloning issues this year or it is a weird co-incidence? I have been close to three separate incidents this summer; including my mother and a friend.

Briefly, three cards, two people, three banks, (2 British banks/cards, one French bank/card). All had money deducted - hundreds rather than thousands. All had cards in their possession at all times, never lost or stolen. Still have them now. All 'dodgy' transactions internet-related and involving travel. The French card legitimately used for minor transactions eg petrol, etc. The two British cards not used in France but were in purses/wallets when out and about.

In all cases, the banks, (French and English) have been most helpful and reimbursed 'dodgy transactions'. The English pretty much immediately. The French promise to 'after Paris has investigated'.

The two people concerned don't live anywhere near each other in UK, although they were together on a number of occasions in Argeles in June, when it seems it all started.

Just wondering if this is a one-off, a weird co-incidence or something of a pattern?

Susie

Not specific to Argelès or even France, but I received this a few months ago from someone who asked me to put it in the Did You Know section. I coudn't find confirmation, so didn't but interesting nevertheless.

RFID
Does your credit card have RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification)?
More and more cards now have a tiny radio chip that allows you to simply swipe in front of a till or checkout without even taking it out of your bag or wallet. Rapid and easy, but did you know that anyone can buy a cheap, handheld scanner on the Internet and the clever ones can access your credit card information just by walking past you in a shop or on the street?

Very much late in the day, but I think this was just a coincidence. Scams over the internet do not require cards to be "cloned": they just require the numbers printed on the front of the card (card number and expiry) and the three digits on the back (CSC/CVV). Thse last three digits cannot be found by sophisticated RFID skimming - the numbers on the back are not encoded on your card, but only on the card issuer's computer. But they can, obviously, be found by looking at your card.

By far the most likely source is dodgy staff in retail locations who have your cards in their possession long enough to note the details. Moral: do not ever let anyone take your card away or see the reverse side of it, and insist on putting it in their card reader yourself and taking it away yourself. It used to be a hazard in the poncier restaurants that they took it away on a little dish (though not mostly out of a desire to defraud, but just to add poncyness). But less so now : they generally bring their card reader to you, and insist that they do.