Banks fight back against 'skimming'

Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Australia's biggest lender by market value, has reduced the amount some customers can spend on bank cards to cut down on so-called skimming attacks.

Some account-holders got a text message from the bank on Saturday saying their card may have been compromised.

Bank spokeswoman Nichole Ismay said affected customers had had their daily spending limit cut to A$200 ($250) until they changed their pin.

She said the move was a precautionary measure and did not mean the customers who got the messages had been targeted by skimmers.

She declined to disclose how many customers were affected by the reduced limits.

Police estimate A$50 million has been stolen by skimmers in Australia in the past 12 months, the Sydney Morning Herald reported last week.

Skimmers modify eftpos terminals or cash machines so they can acquire a customer's card details and pin number, then use the information to withdraw money from their accounts.

New South Wales police said last week that they were working with interstate and international counterparts to investigate skimming offences.

They said six people had been arrested in relation to these matters so far.

A police spokesman declined to comment further yesterday.

Customers are not liable for unauthorised transactions on their accounts when they become victims of skimming crimes, the Australian Bankers' Association said.

"The bank wears the loss," said chief executive David Bell.

Westpac Banking blocked as many as 11,000 cards in a 10-day period to try to halt card skimming, the Daily Telegraph newspaper reported on Friday.

- BLOOMBERG