The Central Bank has said that it is "closely monitoring" the situation at Ulster Bank, as tens of thousands of the bank's customers struggle to access their cash.

Ulster Bank says over 100,000 people are affected by a systems failure that's caused delayed automatic salary and social welfare payments to some of its accounts.

The scale of bank card fraud is continuing to rise, with €25.7m being scammed by criminals off unsuspecting card holders last year.

Irish consumers are lagging dramatically behind their European counterparts when it comes to using online banking, according to a study by comScore.

IRISH bank officials are working with their British and US counterparts to counter the threat of a new computer virus which can empty customers’ accounts while covering its tracks by showing the customer fake bank balances.

A CRACKDOWN on an internet banking fraud gang saw gardaí seize computers and documents at a Meath home.

THE use of online banking has surged 16% with 2.6 million customers now registered in Ireland.

ACCORDING to Una Dillon of the Irish Payment Services Organisation, the criminals took terminals that were already in the shop and replaced them with similar ones.

FRAUDSTERS have been developing technology to tamper with chip and PIN terminals in shops and steal card information.

CREDIT cardholders whose details were used illegally when fraudsters gained access to the database of an Irish online retailer will not suffer any financial loss, it was confirmed yesterday.

IRISH consumers withdraw more money from cash-machines than anyone else in Europe — taking out almost €6,000 a year each, figures have revealed.

MARKS & SPENCER is the latest high street retailer to ban cheques, forcing customers to pay by cash or card instead.

CROOKS are resorting to mobile phone technology to trick consumers into divulging their bank details to a bogus automated hotline.

THE annual €40 stamp duty on credit cards is to fall to €30 and the levy on cash machine cards is to halve to €5.

Criminals no longer need to pick our pockets to rob us — they’re doing it electronically. Consumer correspondent Paul Kelly reports.

EDUCATED fraudsters have enough know-how to use complex mathematical calculations to imprint genuine but unissued bank numbers onto fake credit cards.

FRAUDSTERS are making €30,000 every time they get past a bank’s security measures and con Irish consumers into divulging their account details.

CONSUMERS who struggle to find small change for everyday goods could see an end to their woes from next year thanks to a new generation of bank cards.

CONSUMERS are being fleeced out of tens of millions of euro by increasingly clever scams and confidence tricks — and some are even legal.

Incidents of card fraud have decreased as a result the introduction of smartcard technology, according to officials.

Banks are hoping "smartcards" will make a significant dent in credit and Laser card fraud in Ireland, which costs millions of Euro every year.

CRIMINAL gangs have used card-skimming devices to defraud banks of €3.5 million this year, gardaí said yesterday.

Criminal gangs have used card-skimming devices to defraud banks of €3.5m this year, it emerged today.

Since June, chip and PIN technology has cost Irish banks and retailers up to €200m. But despite teething problems, it is here to stay, writes Niamh Hennessy.

CRIMINAL gangs from Eastern Europe are using card-skimming devices in raids on cash machines around the country, it emerged yesterday.

Criminal gangs from Eastern Europe are using card-skimming devices in raids on cash machines around the country, it emerged today.

CONSUMERS clocked up €420 million of Laser card transactions between late November and early December, as usage soared by a whopping 36% before the serious Christmas shopping even began.

THE accounts of thousands of AIB customers were yesterday targeted by fraudsters in a sophisticated internet scam.

PEOPLE who buy tickets on the internet are at risk of being conned by the latest financial scam.

INTERNET banking customers were warned last night about a fraudulent scheme to steal their credit card details on AIB’s website.

Internet banking customers were warned tonight about a fraudulent scheme to steal their credit card details.

The Irish Payment Services Organisation has advised bank customers to dispose of sensitive documents carefully in order to combat growing "identity theft".

BANKCARD holders need to be more vigilant around ATM machines due to the growing use of sophisticated electronic equipment to commit fraud.