Police last night charged two people with conspiracy to defraud after raiding a counterfeit payment card factory in Birmingham.

A statement from the dedicated cheque and plastic crime unit (DCPCU) explained that it believes criminals have been tampering with retailers’ Chip & PIN terminals in order to steal card transaction data and PINs from these machines.

Recovered in the raid were stolen Chip & PIN terminals, card account numbers, a card reader/writer, computer software and fake magnetic stripe cards. The police said that, using the details that they steal, criminals are able to create fake magnetic stripe cards that can be used fraudulently in countries that have yet to roll out Chip & PIN.

However, the police does not believe that this practice is widespread yet.

DCPCU head detective chief inspector John Folan said: “To date, compromised Chip & PIN terminals have been found in less than 30 retail outlets throughout the UK. Together with the banking and retail industries, we are working to ensure this figure is minimised. We are sending a very clear warning to fraudsters these crimes will not be tolerated and that we will continue to target them and disrupt their fraudulent activity.”

Through its Card Watch initiative, payment association Apacs advises retailers to regularly check Chip & PIN terminals for signs of tampering and to limit staff access to the devices.

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