UK banking group Lloyds TSB is attaching anti-skimming devices to its cash machines across the country in a bid to cut ATM fraud.
Research commissioned by the bank and conducted by TNS shows that three quarters of UK adults (76%) are concerned about withdrawing money from cash machines in case fraudsters copy their card details. Around the same number - 77% - say they would feel more confident using a cash machine if it was fitted with an anti-skimming device.
Skimming involves fraudsters attaching a fake card reader to an ATM which records the data stored on the magnetic stripe of a credit or debit card. At the same time they record customers entering PINs using pinhole cameras. The stolen data is then used to make counterfeit cards, which can be used to empty customer accounts at ATMs.
As skimming only works with mag-stripe cards, the roll out of chip and PIN was meant to eradicate cash machine fraud in the UK. The introduction of the technology helped cut ATM fraud by 12% in 2005, but losses from the crime still totalled £65.8 million, according to figures from Apacs.
Lloyds TSB says the new devices will protect those consumers without chip and PIN cards, including foreign visitors to the UK, as well as customers with damaged chip cards which, in some cases, can revert to working via the magnetic strip.
Matthew Timms, Internet and ATM director, Lloyds TSB, says: "We are doing everything we can to ensure that our cash machines are safe to use but we also need customers' help and we urge people to be vigilant when using cash machines and report anything suspicious."
Barclays Bank has also rolled out anti-skimming devices across its cash machine network in the UK and limited daily withdrawals from ATMs in a bid to cut fraud levels.