JN Bank investigating card skimming incidents in St Thomas

JN Bank says it's investigating suspected debit card skimming activities in Morant Bay, St Thomas, following reports of unauthorised withdrawals from customers' accounts.

In a media release on Thursday, the bank said on January 8, thirteen members in Morant Bay reported unknown automated teller machine (ATM) and point-of-sale (POS) withdrawals from their JN Bank accounts between January 6 and 7.

An additional six reports were received on January 9.

JN Bank said preliminary findings indicate that the affected members' debit cards were skimmed.

Card skimming is a form of fraud where criminals capture data from a bank card, which they use to create a duplicate card. They commonly do this by affixing devices at ATMs and on POS machines that can 'read' the card. These attachments are carefully affixed so that they are not easily detected by anyone.

JN Bank said investigations so far have confirmed that the breach did not occur at one of its ATMs or POS machines. It said it is in dialogue with other financial institutions, which are also investigating.

The police have also reportedly advised that they are aware of fraudulent activities at ATMs in Morant Bay.

"At JN Bank we maintain zero tolerance for fraud, and we are moving expeditiously with our investigations into the incidents in keeping with our policies and procedures. We are in dialogue with the affected members and our wider membership base, and continue to educate all members and the public about ways to protect themselves against financial crimes and other wanton activities," the bank said.

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