Dodgy device lets scammers clone 15 people’s credit cards EVERY SECOND
Fraudsters could use gadget to quickly copy contactless cards and quietly fleece victims without their knowledge
Crooks could steal up to 15 people's credit card details every second using a scary contactless cloning device which costs less than £500.
The tiny device is easily portable and can be used to copy the information stored on credit cards.
All a thief needs to do is stand in a crowded area to gather vast amounts of credit card data from unsuspecting people.
Victims' cards can then be easily cloned and used to go an a spending spree, with thieves' greed only limited by the £30 contactless transaction limit.
Criminals could even go online to buy much more expensive products, although this is likely to be a trickier and riskier endeavour because pricey goods may have to be delivered to the card owners' address.
The devices are now reportedly "flooding" London and the South East. They are on sale in clandestine marketplaces on the dark web, as well as changing hands in the criminal underworld.
“This is the first contactless bank card hacker being sold on the black market," .
“We designed and developed it. It can read any bank card from 8cm away and will read 1024 bytes per second, which is equivalent to 15 bank cards per second.
“All you have to do is be in close proximity to groups of people with contactless cards – that’s around half of all debit card holders – and you’re in.”
There are 86.5 million contactless cards. About two thirds of these are debit cards, whilst the rest are credit or charge cards.
Banking information is stored on the cards using a security technique called encryption, which makes the data difficult to read to anyone who doesn't have a key to crack the code.
However, last year Which managed to use a similar device to clone cards and buy a £3,000 television off the internet.
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If you're worried about tactless con artists, the best way to protect yourself is by using a material that's generally used in conspiracy theorists' hats.
Just line your wallet with tinfoil and you should be safe from contactless crooks.
You could also buy a shielded wallet or purse. Just look for anything that can block Radio-frequency identification (RFID) signals.
However, according to the UK Card Association, contactless fraud is extremely rare.
Richard Koch, head of policy, : “Instances of fraud on contactless cards are in fact extremely rare, with losses of less than a penny for every £100 spent on contactless – far lower even than overall card fraud.”
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