Don’t allow ‘double swipe’ of your debit card

Zainab al Nassri  - Muscat, Dec 18 - Watch out for the double swiping of your debit/ credit cards at shops or malls as the card details could get stolen or be misused, the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) has warned. Double swipe is a practice in which a merchant swipes your debit or credit card on the Point of Sale (PoS) machine and the store’s cash register. Although the CBO earlier this month asked supermarkets to discontinue double swiping to prevent misuse of card information and data, many supermarkets continue to do it, exposing data of millions of people to risks. According to the bank, the only purpose of a second swipe is collecting client information for marketing purposes. Chief Accountant of Lulu Group, Abdurazack, said: “From January 1, we don’t have to swipe twice as all cards will be directly linked to the bank accounts. Money will be debited straight from the accounts.” A senior official at a major bank said: “Double swipe is done by cashiers to open the register and document the bill of purchase. “However, all details of the card will be read and saved by the system. Of course, those details will be secure as long as the vendor ensures clients’ privacy. If the system gets stolen, hacked or broken, all saved information will be at risk.” Meanwhile, the banks across the country have advised their customers to ensure cashiers do not double swipe their cards. They urged people to report such practices so that action can be taken against them.