Credit Card Processor Data Breach
Credit Card Scams Abroad Could Still Affect UK Users
A Spanish credit card scam involving a payment processing company may affect Brits who’ve never even been to the country. Card issuers such as Visa and Mastercard say that any consumer who has had a payment processed by the Spanish company under investigation could be at risk.
Credit card fraud is steadily rising and, according to the UK Cards Association, the two main areas targeted are transactions not protected by chip and PIN such as internet, phone and mail order fraud; and fraud abroad committed by criminals using stolen UK card details in countries yet to upgrade to chip and pin.
Cards are increasingly being compromised at the payment processor stage. Earlier this year 100 million credit cards were compromised after cyber criminals attacked Heartland Payment Systems – the 6th largest credit card processor in the US. Prior to that the payment processing division of The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS WorldPay) was breached, divulging the personal information of 1.5 million cardholders.
Since Spanish police announced this most recent scam, thousands of credit cards in Germany have been re-called that may have been compromised. UK customers will be contacted if suspected of being at risk and, in the meantime, have been advised to closely monitor their accounts and report any transactions they think suspicious.
A Visa Europe spokesman said: “We cannot comment on the detail of specific investigations but Visa Europe is aware of a possible card data security issue in Spain. No details are yet confirmed, but we do not believe that the issue is specific to Visa.
About the Author
Justin Schamotta is a personal finance journalist who currently writes news and features for Credit Card Comparison Online and Choose Money.
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