Banks turn to security chips as card scams top €5m per year

THE planned introduction by 2005 of an embedded security chip in credit cards will be a turning point in the battle against stolen and counterfeit cards, a banking chief said yesterday.

But banks and the travel industry yesterday advised card holders to be extra vigilant as credit card scams affecting Irish consumers continue to top €5m annually.

Credit card fraud is quite significant in the Irish market, the Irish Bankers’ Federation warned, despite the losses amounting to less than 0.1% of the €5.7bn turnover from credit cards.