Thieves target Eftpos cards

Just finished paying for Christmas goodies with your Eftpos card? Be wary of pickpockets who are ready to ruin your holidays.

In the past few weeks police have received numerous complaints about pickpockets who have stolen cashflow cards, then used them to take money from people's accounts.

Many of the victims have been elderly women who did not even realise their cards had been stolen until after the money was gone.

Detective Senior Sergeant Mark Benefield, head of the Auckland City District's general fraud squad, said many of the victims had been observed entering their Pin numbers into Eftpos machines in supermarkets or stores.

Card thieves plundered accounts sometimes before the owners realised they had been robbed.

Retired Hillsborough woman Mary Thomson was one such victim. She was paying for items with her Eftpos card at the Countdown Supermarket when she noticed a woman standing close to her.

She turned to look at the woman and noticed a man also standing near her but thought nothing of it.

As Mrs Thomson was walking out of the supermarket she felt a pull on her bag. She turned to see the man and woman, but managed to hold onto her bag and leave.

It was only when she visited an ATM machine minutes later that she noticed her card was gone, presumably taken by the woman when she tried to grab the bag.

In the half an hour it took for Mrs Thomson to report her card stolen, the thieves stole $2064 from her account.

"They left me with $54," she said. "I couldn't believe it could happen so quickly."

Mrs Thomson was lucky in that her bank has reimbursed the money, but she and police are keen to warn other people about what is happening.

Meanwhile, Christchurch police are advising shopkeepers to be extra wary during Eftpos transactions.

In the past three weeks there have been at least five incidents where shopkeepers have lost money and stock during declined Eftpos transactions.

"The person purchases some goods and then requests some cash," said Constable Lance Banks.

"The shopkeeper then hands the cash and card back to the person without checking to see if the transaction has been completed."

In some cases customers left with goods and cash despite the transaction being declined.

Mr Banks said store-owners also needed to be wary about cards that were left behind in stores.

The cards should be kept out of sight and identification requested before they were returned to their owners, or they should be given to the bank concerned.