Police offer card minder to help stop cyber pickpockets

Lisburn PSNI are offering a free ‘card minder’ sleeve from Lisburn Police Station, which can help protect your card.

Contactless cards are proving popular but with Christmas on the way police believe that criminals will be ready to hack the card and steal £30 at a time.

A police spokesperson said: “In recent times, with the introduction of contactless payment, thieves are adapting to come up with new methods to steal your personal data.

“In recent times, with the introduction of contactless payment, thieves are adapting to come up with new methods to steal your personal data.

“Although relatively rare, there have been instances whereby thieves are using card reading equipment to access your details on your contactless card. This is a small handheld device which looks something similar to a mobile phone and fraudsters only have to get within a few inches of where you keep your wallet to scam you.

“A one off payment of £30 can quickly be taken from your account without you knowing. Fraud is even possible when contactless cards are in bags and jacket pockets. So it can be beneficial to take preventative action if possible. We have been working with the Policing and Community Safety Partnership (PCSP) and have launched our ‘Card Minder’ scheme.

“The ‘Card Minder’ is a sleeve , which helps to protect against contactless fraud.

“By placing your card inside one of our protective sleeves it will stop the device being able to pick up a signal so the contactless technology won’t work. We have a few to give away free. Please contact your local Crime Prevention Officer at Lisburn Station on the 101 number.”