Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Car park scam machines being replaced

Updated at 10:52 am on 17 March 2010

Auckland City Council is to spend about $4 million replacing parking machines at the centre of a credit card fraud investigation.

It was discovered in November that an unknown number of people had card details stolen after using machines in the Downtown, Victoria Street, and Civic carparks.

The amount taken from credit card users has never been revealed, and the council hasn't able to say if its machines were up to industry security standards.

The council's group manager for parking, Dale Clements, says it hasn't been given a precise steer as to how the scam happened, though there are a number of theories.

He says the council will replace the machines rather than wait for a definitive conclusion.

A computer forensic specialist who had to replace his credit card, Daniel Ayres, says the fraud serves as a warning and the council should have made sure the machines were secure.

The council says it's talking to a variety of suppliers for the new parking machines and security is a top priority.

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