Thieving toe-rags!

Cloning and other credit card scams happen all the time. All you can do is be careful and vigilant and even then you can be caught out. :(

There has been a lot of good advice on here and I think it covers most of the precautions you can take.

Always cover the numbers with your hand when putting in your pin numbers.

Don't let your card be taken out of your sight when you pay for something. If they can't bring the machine to you then you go with them to the machine.

Preferably use a credit card instead of a debit card. As John says, the extra security of the credit card is worth the small charge you may have - and if you use your card a lot then you can get good deals on 'cashback' cards which give you back a percentage of your spend either in cash or points. These vary from half a percent to one and a half percent depending on the card and how much you spend.

Only keep just enough money in your curent account to operate with.

Have a deposit account that you can feed the current account with and as all of us here are on the internet you can always get an internet account where you can move money from the deposit account to the current account. (Don't keep your passwords on your computer.)

Always check your statements.

Credit card companies are much better nowadays at checking on unusual spends so another precaution you should take if you travel a lot is to tell your company when you are going to be abroad or you may find that they block your card when you use it abroad. When you tell them that you are going away (and where you are going) always ask for the name of the person you speak to. They will also ask when you will be returning. Say that you are not sure but you will call them when you are back.

I'm sure that there are many more precautions but can't think of them now :flag: :hehe: