State Police and Bankserviss – against Pickpockets

To draw people’s attention to the possibilities to protect themselves against pickpockets, SIA First Data Latvia and the State Police, with the support of Latvian commercial banks, carried out a social information campaign ”Kabatzaglis.LV”(Pickpocket.LV) in August 2005.

During the campaign, real, professional and cunning pickpockets, who are serving their sentence at confinement places of Latvia, spoke openly about their experience - on carelessness and mistakes of people, which make the work of pickpockets significantly easier.

At the same time, the campaign pointed out – there is a possibility to emerge unharmed when one is robbed and make the thief’s gain equal to zero. “We don’t need to re-invent the bicycle because it has been already invented. Namely, it is a payment card in the wallet, provided that a note with the PIN code is not kept in that wallet,” said Zanda Brīvule, the Managing Director of First Data Latvia.

Losing a payment card, or if it is stolen, even  if there is a large amount in the account, means losing  just a piece of plastic. “If you act fast and inform your bank or First Data Latvia, your money will be in safety in a couple of seconds, and the card will become just a useless thing. And even if you realise the loss only later and the thief has already found a merchant who is not very accurate with card payments, the Consumer Rights Protection Law guarantees that you’ll get the stolen money back. Namely, if your card has been illegally used and you have officially filed your claim, the money stolen from your card will be repaid,” Z. Brīvule stressed.

Furthermore, any fraud and pickpocket should be aware that the crimes committed with payment cards are disclosed very soon and can be easily traced because First Data Latvia is able to trace the payments made with the card by time, place and amount. “It can be said that, by using a stolen card, the thief is sending his photo to the police,” said Z.Brīvule. The cooperation with the Sate Police has brought success already for many times, and frauds have been arrested on the spot. Moreover, in terms of time, such crimes are disclosed comparatively fast, as points out the representatives of both the State Police and First Data Latvia.

A payment card is like an insurance policy against the damage done by thieves. If cash is stolen, the possibility to recover it is equal to zero. If a payment card is stolen, just one call to your bank or First Data Latvia can save your money.

24 hours phone of First Data Latvia is 7092555