Police warn of mobile phone pictures of credit cards

Police are warning the public to be wary of people sporting mobile phones when they are paying for goods with credit cards.

Police spokesman Jon Neilson urged people to cover their credit cards adequately when they made purchases at checkouts in order to protect their identification from mobile phone lenses.

"People just have to be aware that if there is someone around them with a cell phone when they are doing credit card transactions, they have to understand that photographs can be taken," he said.

"It's about playing safe when making bank transactions."

The police had not received any complaints about mobile phones being used improperly to take photographs of credit cards, but Mr Neilson said it would be difficult for people to know it was happening to them because of the ease of doing so.

Offenders needed only to gain a credit card number and expiry date to make purchases over the phone.

The latest warning follows advice from the police for the public to be wary of people sporting mobile phones around changing rooms as photographs could be taken and posted on the Internet.

- NZPA