50 times cops warned us about payWave, Tap N Go card fraud – FULL LIST
Police have warned and posted about Visa payWave and Mastercard Tap and Go cards for years.
You just wave your card at the shop terminal and buy something – up to $100. What could go wrong?
Criminals have had a field day but that was in decline thanks to better shop security and a general decline in crime.
Has the $200 Tap and Go limit led to more crime?
Since the $100 limit for no-PIN and no-signature required PayWave and Tap and Go payments was doubled to $200 on 3 April, guess what?
It looks like there has been a payWave crimeWave.
There is no way of knowing what the official statistics on this type of card fraud is – until next year. Because the industry self-regulation agency AusPayNet, won’t release the data yet.
But clearly things are out of control.
“The $200 limit has led to people’s cars being broken into, handbags stolen and criminals running rampant in our streets, suburbs and shops,” said Tim Wildash, CEO of Next Payments, a leading advocate for the sue of cash in Australia.
“The $200 limit has turned Tap & Go cards into Tap & Steal goldmines for criminals. Five transactions can be $1,000 gone in a matter of minutes,” said Tim Wildash.
The $200 limit was introduced after pressure from Visa and Mastercard, as a temporary measure for three months. That was three and a half months ago.
Below is a list of more than fifty times the cops have warned and posted wanted pictures about keeping your car secure and your cards secure.
But sometimes the thugs just steal them straight off you, from your handbag, or just demand your card.
Here are some of the stories:
“A woman found a credit card in Werribee and police say she used it to make several purchases at businesses in Tarneit and Werribee. CrimeStoppers posted this picture on their unsolved cases page:
On Sunday 31 May 2020 four handbags containing mobile phones and bank cards were taken from a home in Langford, South Australia. the cards were used on a shopping spree around Langford.
Police are looking for a man and woman.
How about this for cheeky: Monday 18 May 2020 a woman entered a pathology clinic on Corfield St in Gosnells South Australia and just picked up a handbag, sat in the reception area and rummaged through it.
Of course she has allegedly taken bank cards and left. She has been charged by police. But police think this man could help them because the stolen cards were used to buy grog:
And in South Melbourne, police are looking for these two guys:
Apparently they might be able to help solve a case of theft of a handbag and other stuff from a motor vehicle and follow-up shopping spree in South Melbourne on the 6th of June, 2020.
Over in the west, at lunch on Wednesday 1 July 2020 someone broke into a car (smashed a window) on Parker Street in South Perth and took, you guessed it, credit cards and other stuff.
Police want to ask this woman what she knows about it. She’s described as 30-40, tanned, dark long hair with bare feet.
In fact most of these crimes are pathetic crimes of poverty. Meanwhile there’s plenty of money being made from cashless payments. But not by the poor.
Jason Bryce, Freelance Journalist 