Cash machine crimes on the increase
The UK withdraws £5,455 a second from cash machines
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Saturday, 04, Nov 2006 10:49
Figures to be published next week are expected to show an increase in cash machine fraud.
The rise comes despite millions of pounds spent on anti-fraud technology by banks.
It is believed that as card security improved following the introduction of chip-and-pin technology, fraudsters could no longer 'skim' cards and so turned their attention towards cash machines.
Statistics from the Association of Payment and Clearing Services (Apacs) in 2005 show that counterfeit card crime was reduced by 31 per cent from the previous year, a reduction seen to be achieved by chip-and-pin technology.
A statement from the British bankers association (BBA), which represents banking in the UK said: "So long as the perception exists that fraudsters are unlikely to be caught, unlikely to be convicted and, even if convicted, receive light sentences, then fraud will continue to pervade the UK economy and society as a whole."
The BBA also blamed the lack of an "anti-fraud culture in the UK" with "the perception that fraud is a victimless crime where punishment of offenders is light compared to those committing other acquisitive crimes".
Figures from Apacs show that Britons withdrew £172 billion from cash machines last year, which is an average amount of £5,455 per second.