Commuters warned over card skimming

Commuters have been warned to be vigilant when using public transport ticket machines after a number of case of card skimming activity were reported.

The Irish Payment Services Organisation said the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation was looking into recent cases involving ticket vending machines at Dart stations in Booterstown and Dún Laoghaire.

The organisation said criminals appeared to be using skimming equipment to capture debit and credit card details and PIN numbers while members of the public used the machines.

It said CCTV footage captured from the stations suggested that a single gang was behind the scam.

Activity of this nature “will most likely escalate in the run up to Christmas” as larger numbers of people use public transport, the organisation said.

“IPSO warns cardholders using these machines to simply cover the PIN pad when keying in their PIN so that the criminals cannot see [it] being entered, either through shoulder surfing or when micro-cameras are used,” the organisation said.

“Cardholders who believe they may have been compromised should check their accounts on a regular basis.”