From CNC3

Widespread panic was reported today as several Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) customers said their bank cards had been skimmed and thousands of dollars from their accounts had reportedly gone missing.

Skimming refers to the use of fraudulent methods to obtain customer details by “skimming’ their debit and credit cards at point of use, whether ATM or point of sale.

Most commonly the modus operandi involves introducing a mechanism that ‘skims’ – retrieves and records data, off customer cards.

The data is then applied to a counterfeit card by the fraudulent operators and used to withdraw cash or purchase goods or services at point of sale.

The large scale skimming attacks are primarily the work of transnational operators who target a specific country, obtain data and then use the counterfeit cards they are able to produce in foreign countries.

A Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) spokesperson said they were aware of a number of clients who have been impacted by debit card skimming.

“We have been in contact with affected clients and are working with them to bring the matter to speedy resolution. Several clients have already been reimbursed. We remind all of our clients of the importance of protecting their PIN numbers to keep them secure,” they said.

The representative went on to say, “We were not hacked. We’ve had a situation where several clients suffered debit card skimming. We are aware of the situation and have been in contact with affected clients to resolve the matter.”

As news spread of the incident, people were heading to their home branches to see if they were affected.

During the Christmas weekend posts were circulating around Facebook about similar incidents.

SOURCE: Trinidad Guardian

For more on this story go to: http://www.cnc3.co.tt/press-release/panic-some-rbc-customers-funds-disappear

See iNews Cayman related story published December 23 2015 “FCU Advisory: Card skimming and online scams operating in Cayman Islands” at: http://www.ieyenews.com/wordpress/fcu-advisory-card-skimming-and-online-scams-operating-in-cayman-islands/