The next time you go on holiday and someone decides to copy or steal your card, your bank might make you pay for it. British banks are imposing stricter rules on card theft and fraud, which could make their customers liable if someone tampers with their card. From January certain banks will be able to block compensation to fraud victims if they display careless behavior
The Daily Mail reports that British customers could be liable for thousands of pounds if their PIN is easy to guess or if they entered it in view of other people. Banks could ask for CCTV footage to verify whether or not the customer was shielding their PIN to decide if they were careful enough. These new measures comes as the news that credit card fraud rose 9% in the first six months of the year, amounting to a value of 185 million pounds.
Additionally, the regulation takes into account the new trend of mobile banking. If a customer’s phone is stolen and then used to access funds in their account the bank can reject compensation claims if the password was weak. Banks will also not allow their customers to use their PIN for multiple cards or any other password protected services.
The new rules are being pioneered by Santander but other banks are expected to adopt them too. They have been heavily criticized and deemed unfair.
