Chantal Eustace
Sun
Delta resident Darren Stevens said he was happy when he learned someone stole $200 from his bank account in what he believes to be debit card fraud.
As co-founder of MySpy — digital software that keeps people updated on their bank activities through e-mail and text messaging — he said, he was armed and ready for a virtual attack on his finances.
“I was excited,” he said, chuckling. “We were really wanting to catch some criminals with this.”
On March 23, his MySpy software sent him a text message alerting him that someone at a Vancouver automated teller had withdrawn money from his account. Since he was at home at the time, not at a bank machine, he knew something was wrong. He believes someone used a counterfeited debit card.
Stevens said he immediately called police, alerted his bank and nipped the problem in the bud.
But most people don’t know they’re being robbed.
On Friday, Vancouver police alerted the public to a debit card skimming scam. They said thousands of people in the Lower Mainland could be affected by “parasite” handheld debit machines used to create counterfeit cards.
Members of an Eastern European crime gang were alleged to be surreptitiously switching debit pin pads with ones implanted with a parasite device. The only way to know if you’ve been targeted is to check your bank account, police warned.
Debit card fraud is on the rise, according to the Canadian Bankers Association.
In 2006, out of 35 million cards issued across Canada, about 119,000 were impacted by skimming — up from about 72,000 in 2005.
“It’s going up slightly,” said Caroline Hubberstey, a spokeswoman for the association.
Hubberstey said new technology is being considered in order to help protect consumers against this type of fraud. In the fall, micro-chip debit cards — like ones used in Europe — will be tested out in Waterloo, Ontario, she said. If this pilot project goes well, she said, these cards and card readers will be rolled out across Canada.
But local fraud specialist Jeff Burton, of the BC Crime Prevention Association, said customers need to take more responsibility for protecting themselves because technology alone can’t solve the problem.
“The bad guys are only a couple of steps behind any new developments in technology,” Burton said. He recommends people look at their online financial statements daily.
“There’s no way the consumer will know, until it’s too late, that their debit cards have been compromised,” Burton said.
As for Stevens, he said he blames the convenience of online banking, direct deposit and debit machines for making people complacent. “People are getting out of touch with their money,” Stevens said. “It’s all taking place electronically.”
He hasn’t had any updates on his case from police, he said, adding he doesn’t know where the fraud occurred. “The police told me [my card] was skimmed.”
The cash was returned to his account through his bank 24 hours later and he got his debit card replaced, he said, so no harm done.
Most of all, Stevens said, it was a good learning experience: “I take money out all the time. I don’t know if I ever would have noticed.”
© The Vancouver Sun 2007
