Plastic cards compromised via spurious readers

Fake credit card readers were installed in retailers' stores in northeast Ireland where fraudsters posed as authorized bank service personnel to cheat the retailers and replace the true devices for forged ones.

As the data shows 10,000 credit and debit cards may have been compromised by the time authorities became aware of the scam late last week.

The banks will notify their customers whose details have been stolen. According to Jennie Chamberlaine, marketing manager for the Irish Payment Services Organization card details are likely to have been used.

In some cases financial institutions such as the Bank of Ireland reacted by shutting down their cards. Besides, banks limited overseas withdrawals to as little as €100 (US$146).

The limitation measure was undertaken because violators can use clone cards to withdraw cash overseas in those countries where unlike in European states there are no ATMs using "chip-and-pin" system.