Have you been affected?
A number of Bank of Ireland customers have been restricted from using their debit cards due to restrictions imposed by the bank over fraud concerns.
Affected customers have been unable to use their cards for online or contactless payments, although Bank of Ireland has said that the cards can still be used for chip and pin transactions at ATM machines and shop terminals.
Bank of Ireland said that restrictions were imposed because of “heightened precautionary activity due to the increase in third party data breaches,” which have affected the likes of Ticketmaster and Marriott Hotel Group.
Bank of Ireland admitted that it is “an inconvenience” but said that it is a temporary measure that was implemented in order to protect customers from fraud.
In a statement to JOE, Bank of Ireland said: “As part of Bank of Ireland’s proactive customer care approach, when we suspect that a debit or credit card may have been put at risk of fraud we take precautionary measures and issue customers with a new card. A risk of fraud can arise, for example, if an ATM is tampered with or through a third party data breach. Receiving one of these precautionary messages does not mean that your card has been used fraudulently.
“In some instances we issue new cards to customers as a fraud precaution measure. Currently there is heightened precautionary activity due to the increase in third party data breaches, for example, Ticketmaster and Marriott Hotel Group data breaches.
“Customers who have received a proactive care message can still use their existing card for chip and pin transactions via ATM or in shop terminals using their confidential four digit pin. Online and contactless functionality is temporarily removed from a customer’s card due to the potential for fraud.
“We understand that this is an inconvenience, however, it is temporary and implemented in order to protect the customer from fraud.”
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