My card was cloned, now what?
Published on: May 25, 2016
AUTHOR: RENZO MAYOR MAYOR
In card cloning, the affected party does not find out that his card has been cloned until he realizes that his money has been used without his authorization. This can be defined as the use of an attachment to capture the information of the magnetic stripe for its subsequent emptying in a blank card. Among the most used modalities we have the following:
Use of a special attachment[i]: Criminals use this attachment called skimmer in fake or altered POS to copy card information in full view of the victim.
They also manipulate ATMs to install a device that can record card information without the user being aware of it, as shown in the graphic.
Close-range scanning[ii]: Whereby criminals bring the device close to the cardholder’s pocket to copy the card information.
However, in order to use the cloned cards, it will be necessary to register the user’s password on debit cards or his signature on credit cards, since under these modalities only the information is copied.
In short, whatever the modality used, the criminals appropriate the information contained in the card and obtain a duplicate of it to carry out all kinds of operations. In view of this, we can do the following:
First of all, one should go to the Bank, since SBS Resolution N° 6523-2013 makes the bank responsible for any operation not recognized by the subject. Here, the cardholder must inform the entity of the situation and block the card, as well as request a refund for having been a victim of cloning.
In case the Bank does not assume the responsibility, INDECOPI through the Consumer Protection Commission can protect us because the same regulation contains measures that the entities must adopt to protect consumers, so if the bank did not comply with these measures, such as security in this case, it could initiate the procedure and recover the money.
Finally, the Peruvian National Police can be contacted, since we are dealing with a case of Computer Fraud, typified in Law No. 30096, so that the Police and the Public Prosecutor’s Office can investigate and capture the criminals.
