"Whilst it is fantastically convenient for tourists to make use of cards over cash when travelling it's imperative for both tourists and South Africans to remember that they should guard against card fraud to ensure the safety of the hard earned cash," says Andy Gilder, general manager of Justmoney.co.za - a website dedicated to comparing financial services products.
Despite the current downward trend in this crime, stealing card information, which is stored on card magnetic strips, is still happening and it's very easy to fall for these kinds of scams. Card skimming happens most often when using hand-held devices during payments as the card holder loses sight of his or her card. This can happen anywhere - from standing in line at the ATM to shopping or paying at restaurants.
"Don't accept help from anybody when you are standing in line at an ATM. Criminals often use simple tricks like asking whether they can ‘clean' your card or using distraction techniques to gain access to your pin," Gilder said.
"And memorize your PIN - writing it down or saving it on your cell phone makes it easy for criminals to gain access to your details should you get robbed."
Justmoney says that being wary is the best way to guard against card fraud and reminds traveller that if they are planning to use their cards while travelling they should inform their bank of their travel plans