CHINGFORD: Extent of card cloning revealed

1:55pm Thursday 24th July 2008

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THE sheer scale of card fraud at one of Waltham Forest’s most popular supermarkets can today be revealed by the Guardian.

Last week we reported how several people had had their bank accounts raided by thieves overseas after using the Morrisons store in Chingford.

Since then we have been inundated with emails and phone calls from readers who, while already trying to make ends meet thanks to the ongoing credit crunch, have lost hundreds of pounds because their cards have been cloned.

It has also been revealed that nearby Walthamstow is one of the worst places in the UK for card and bank fraud.

Scams where existing financial products, such as cards, loans and mortgages, are targeted have increased by a staggering 182 per cent over the past three months, compared to the same period last year.

The UK’s fraud prevention service, CIFAS, has compiled a list of postcode districts which are hit the most by fraudsters, and E17 is ranked at number five.

The Guardian contacted Morrisons which said card readers which may have been tampered with were still used.

The devices, which were reportedly stolen and then returned to the store, were not immediately checked or replaced.

A spokesman for Morrisons tried to reassure the public, saying: “We are continuing to investigate a reported security incident at our Chingford store and we can confirm that there is currently no issue for customers.”

Stephanie Clifton, who had her card cloned, said: “I went back to the store on July 18 and spoke to a deputy manager who said the readers had been stolen and then miraculously appeared again, and they continued to use them.”

The store’s petrol station was only accepting only cash after being alerted to the problems but has now reverted back to normal.

Cheryl Ellington, a housing officer from Coningsby Gardens, Chingford, visited Morrisons on June 30 and made a card transaction.

She then received a phone call from her bank informing her that an attempt had been made in the Philippines to withdraw £116.70 from her Nat West account.

“It’s unnerving,” she said. “The bank said they were going to do it again.”

Yvonne Beesley, also of Chingford, said: “My debit card was used in Benin, Western Africa, 12 times on Sunday, July 6, at different cash points, to the total of £614 – that was after using my card in Morrisons.

“Then on July 19 my credit card was used in America, again at cash points, again after using my card in Morrisons. I haven’t got the total of that yet.”

Karen Matthews, 37, who lives in Hertfordshire but works in Blackhorse Road, Walthamstow, used her card at the store on June 11, then someone in Germany took £85 from her account.

She said: “I haven’t had the money back yet.”

CIFAS research manager Sandra Peaston said fraudsters may feel that areas of high population density offered anonymity, She added: “It is also true to say that London is a city of stark contrast where extraordinarily wealt-hy and socially disadvantaged people often live in close proximity. This can provoke and help to facilitate fraudulent behaviour.”

For more information visit www.met.police.uk/fraudalert/section/atm_fraud.htm