Australia 'prime target for credit card skimmers'

International cybercriminals are focusing on Australia in their efforts to capture people's credit card information.

Australia is viewed as an easy target for fraudsters to attempt to gain access to people's bank accounts, it has been suggested.

Superintendent Brian Hay, head of the Queensland fraud squad, claims that the country is the "land of milk and honey" for credit card skimmers.

He adds such criminals are set to use a new device where credit card information can be transmitted from a capture device installed at an ATM to a mobile phone, News.com.au reports.

The publication reveals that one of those to have fallen victim to such a crime is Michael Souri, a restaurant owner in Sydney, where his bank account details were skimmed while on holiday.

Some $30,000 was taken from his debit account from fraudsters based in Canada and Bulgaria.

In related news, Don Heise, of the Western Australia police's major fraud squad, claimed that more than 3,000 people in the region had been affected by an Australian banking scam where skimming devices had stolen over $3 million from people's accounts.

Posted by Nate Sawyer