EIn recent years, especially since the coronavirus pandemic, Payment through credit and debit cards has multiplied throughout the planet. With cash losing its predominance, practically all establishments have the possibility of completing the payment without having to carry bills or coins in their wallet.
Now, with the possibility of even paying with your mobile phone or watch, this instrument is an ease for all buyers. Nevertheless, There is also the danger that scams may appear. The Civil Guard, through various communications in recent times, has reported different frauds that exist in this type of payments.
“When you pay by card, don’t lose sight of it. It only takes a few seconds to clone and then commit a scam. Request a mobile reader to pay. Report Skimming,” the official account of the Civil Guard recently wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
What is Skimming?
This term used by the Civil Guard is an anglicism that comes from the verb ‘skim’, which means to browse or read quickly. In just a few seconds, thieves are able to extract all the victims’ data without them realizing it.. On some occasions, this occurs when paying at a point-of-sale (POS) terminal that has been previously tampered with, although there are also cases where it occurs at an ATM.
For these types of acts, The Civil Guard warns that you must always be very careful with the use of credit or debit cards. This fact is always very important to avoid scams and to guarantee the security of our bank accounts and keep the savings in them intact.
