Debit Card Fraud

Payment Card (Debit and Credit card) Fraud

Debit and credit card fraud occurs when information on your card is stolen or copied without your authorization. The purposes of counterfeiting debit and credit cards is to access your accounts to steal money or make fraudulent purchases in stores or online.

How does debit and credit card fraud work?

Information that is stored on the magnetic stripe of a debit card or credit card is captured through card-reading devices and hidden cameras that obtain your passcode, card data and ultimately reproduced on a counterfeit card. This is called Debit Card Skimming.

Fraud can also occur by cards being lost/stolen.  If the PIN is not kept secure (ie. is easy to guess such as DOB, is written down, is shared etc) unauthorized transactions can occur. Members have a responsibility to keep their cards and PIN secure.

Chip and Pin Technology

We’ve implemented the latest chip and PIN technology on our Vancity Visa and MemberCards that gives you an added layer of security. The card must be used with the correct PIN (which is known only to you) and is checked against the PIN embedded on the chip. By using chip technology, we’re able to identify genuine cards which makes counterfeiting more challenging.

How we protect you?

If you incur losses due to unauthorized online banking or debit card transaction activity, you will be reimbursed as long as you fulfill all of your responsibilities under the Account and Services Guide.

When a Vancity debit card (or MemberCard) is compromised, we block the cards from further use so that a fraudster can’t access money from your account. You will need to re-PIN your card (change your passcode) to use your card again.

Other types of credit card fraud include:

• Internet or telephone fraud, where fraudsters use stolen credit card information through these channels to make purchases.
• Identity theft, where stolen identification information is then used to apply for a credit card.
• Lost/stolen card report scam, where the fraudster reports the card lost or stolen and asks for a replacement to be mailed to their address. They typically make a few transactions prior to making the report to appear as the legitimate cardholder.
• Non-receipt, where stolen credit cards are intercepted in the mail and activated by the thief.

If you think you may have been a victim of card skimming or another kind of credit or debit card fraud, contact the Member Services Centre at 604.877.7000 or toll free at 1.888.Vancity (826.2489), or your branch immediately.

Prevention Tips:

• Under no circumstances provide anyone with your credit or debit PIN. Provide personal information only when you are sure you know who you are talking to and there is good reason to provide it and give your credit and debit card information only to websites you trust and know to be legitimate.
• Choose unique numbers as your PIN that only you would know. A PIN number should not something that can be easily guessed (such as date of birth).
• Treat your cards like cash and make sure you never lose sight of them.
• Use your hand or body to shield your passcode when you are conducting transactions at an automated teller machine (ATM) or at a point-of-sale terminal. If a machine looks like its been tampered with, don’t use it and alert the vendor.
• Check your card statements regularly. Always report unauthorized or suspicious transactions to your financial institution immediately. Monitor your account activity by using our online banking or mobile app.
• If your credit and debit card is lost, stolen or retained by an ATM, notify your financial institution immediately.