Abu Dhabi police issues warning about theft of credit card details

Abu Dhabi Police has warned the public to be on alert for the theft of credit card details by people using electronic magnetic card reader machines.

The machines can retrieve details from a card when placed near a wallet, handbag, pocket or a credit card for a few seconds.

Viral videos online also show fraudsters withdrawing funds after getting card details from a victim’s pocket.

Colonel Emran Ahmed Al Mazrouei, acting director of the Criminal Investigation Directorate at Abu Dhabi Police, stressed that no reports of such thefts have been reported in the emirate so far.

However, he urged people to be cautious, especially when close to ATMs or when they are paying in shops.

He clarified that the “danger lies in copy reader devices containing an extremely small camera which stores pin codes of bank cards and sends the encryptions of its magnetised strip to thieves to re-enter the data again, which allows them to make purchases or withdraw funds”.

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Al Mazrouei also called for not leaving credit cards in an obvious place, particularly inside vehicles, and searching for safe systems when shopping with credit cards on the internet.

He also mentioned the necessity of protecting passwords and not revealing their details, as well as receiving text messages for each withdrawal or purchase, in coordination with the bank which issued the card.

The Abu Dhabi Police addresses all kinds of electronic security threats through its cybercrime department, he added.