What is Card Cloning and how can you avoid it?

Card cloning, also referred to as “skimming,” has become a huge problem across the globe over the past few years. Even in countries such as Zimbabwe, there have been reports of people losing their hard earn money to cloning syndicates. If you are worried about your card being cloned, then you need to read this article. In it, I will define cloning, while showing you how to protect yourself. So, what is card cloning?

Card cloning meaning

Card cloning is simply the duplication of a bank card by thieves for the purposes of stealing the money that is contained therein. Criminal elements have gadgets and atm card cloning software that allow them to copy every detail that’s on your card. This gives them the ability to create duplicate credit and other bank cars. These are then used to make purchases.

Card cloning how does it happen

Criminals who are involved in stealing data from cards usually recruit people who have access to people’s bank cards. That’s how card cloning in Zimbabwe has been happening. Examples would be bartenders, waitresses and shop assistants. These people are then provided with a device that is used to copy the data that’s on a credit card. What happens is; when an individual makes are purchase, the bartender or waiter swipes their card through the reader. Every detail on the card is then captured.

How long does it take for card details to be scanned?

What makes the cloning of cards tricky is the fact that the thieves do not need a lot of time to be able to steal the information that’s on your bank card. The procedure of cloning credit cards takes only a few seconds and all the information on your card will have been cloned.

How big is the problem?

The cloning of bank cards is, as has already been mentioned, a huge problem. Should your card be cloned, chances are high that you will lose you hard earned money. If you want a bit of statistics, just consider the fact hat in the United Kingdom, an estimated 500k was spend, in the year 2000, using stolen cards.

How to protect yourself

There are a number of steps that you can use to protect yourself from cloning. The first is to remain alert when making purchases. Make sure that the cashier is only going to swipe your card on a genuine machine. Also, never let your card get out of your sight. Allowing that to happen would be a recipe for disaster.

Here are security tips to prevent bank fraud. Read them to further protect yourself while banking.