Small retailers should make sure their staff are familiar with the design of the firm's chip and pin card machines to reduce the risk of fraud, one expert has warned.
Danny Harrison, a security expert at card protection firm CPP, explained that devices that could be used to duplicate someone's debit or credit card details could simply be attached to the front of chip and pin readers.
He said: "Retailers should know what their chip and pin machines look like because these devices can just fit on. You can always tell - there is always something that doesn't look quite right."
Mr Harrison also said that owners of small shops should be vigilant in case one of their employees was in cahoots with the fraudsters.
In this case someone's card would be scanned twice, once by the "skimming" device and once by the legitimate chip and pin reader.
According to research conducted by CPP, one in five consumers have had their credit or debit card cloned when using an cash point or chip and pin machine.
