SURREY Police have this week warned motorists to remain vigilant when using credit or debit cards to pay for fuel, after a number of reported incidents of card cloning at a Farnham petrol station. Murco Service Station in Hale Road is now the subject of an ongoing police investigation after a spate of reported thefts of card details. Residents believe the fraud, carried out via a hi- tech skimming device fitted to merchant pay terminals, is "rife" across the Farnham area. In a statement this week Murco said: "We are currently investigating allegations of card fraud at one of our sites in Farnham. "We are co-operating fully with the police in their efforts to apprehend and successfully prosecute any individuals who were responsible for this crime. "Murco Petroleum Limited take allegations of card fraud at its service stations extremely seriously. Appropriate action will be taken if the allegations are substantiated." In a petrol station the skimming devices have the capability to record thousands of customer details in just a few days, allowing thieves to glean a host of information to be sold overseas to countries without chip and pin technology. One Farnham woman has been left feeling cheated and frustrated after her credit card details were cloned twice in one month after paying for fuel at local petrol stations. Maxine Anderson was informed by her bank that somebody was trying to access her account from both Canada and the Philippines after using her card at the Murco service station. Fearing further attempted thefts, Ms Anderson will now only pay for her petrol with cash and is boycotting Murco, urging others to do the same. "I'm not alone here, all of the banks are aware of it and the police are too but they say that they can't actually do anything about it unless somebody becomes the victim of fraud," she explained. "It's just so frustrating. I'm now without a card again until the bank sends me yet another one - it's just ridiculous." She went on to say that she was lucky her bank called to check if she was in Canada withdrawing £150 from her account. When she said no she discovered that she had been a victim of card fraud. "My bank told me that they had 30 people come in to complain about this in one day. It is absolutely rife and people have told me that it is happening at garages all over the place." Surrey Police have told The Herald that they are aware of the alleged incidents of card cloning at the Murco petrol station and an investigation is currently under way. "Surrey Police takes credit card fraud matters seriously and we are committed to bringing offenders to justice," said a spokesman. "This type of organised crime, involving wide-scale cloning of cards, is a complex crime for us to investigate and it is an offence that is affecting everyday life for a large number of people." Police are now urging motorists to "remain vigilant" when using credit or debit cards. "Don't let your card out of your sight or let anyone else touch it when you are paying for your petrol. Equally do not let anyone see your pin number - cover up the key pad with your hand." Tim Pie, a spokesman for the HSBC bank, spoke to The Herald about the dangers of card fraud but sought to reassure customers that they would be fully compensated if found to be genuine victims of such crime. "Unfortunately card cloning happens and the way it happens is through people installing skimming devices to terminals and sometimes ATMs," he said. "The device is so named because it skims the information from the card's magnetic strip when swiped. Quite often pin hole cameras are also installed that watch customers as they punch in their pin number which is why it is so important to cover your hand when paying with a card." He went on to say that the introduction of chip and pin technology has now "virtually put an end to card fraud" within the UK but the danger lies with details being sent on to countries that don't yet have the technology. "You cannot clone a chip as they all have unique identities. However these devices are very good and normally the details recovered from the magnetic strips and sent overseas to a country that doesn't yet have chip and pin technology, where they will try to make cash withdrawals." Mr Pie believes banks are now "sophisticated" when it comes to the art of preventing fraud and he urges the public not to panic. "We will often call a customer if we notice any out of character events and ask them if it really is them making a cash withdrawal from another country. It's an issue that we are aware of and it is something we are working on, but if somebody is a genuine victim of fraud then they will be fully compensated, usually within 24 hours."
