Have you noticed that waiters are increasingly starting to bring the credit card machine over to your table instead of swiping it in some dark corner of the restaurant somewhere?

That’s because banks have recently been warning people never to let your credit card out of sight.

Thanks to ‘skimming’ – a type of credit card fraud, most popular in restaurants – restaurant patrons and owners are becoming a little bit paranoid about what exactly happens to their credit card when they hand it over to the waiter.

Wiley watrons have been doing this for a while apparently, but it has recently become more widespread.

The waiter takes your credit card and swipes it through an external device that is connected to a larger international syndicate, which then copies all of the credit card information, digitally, so that an exact replica can be made.

This information is sold on to the syndicate and before you know it, huge amounts have been stolen from your card.

Banks will be bringing out new credit cards soon, which are more secure, but for the meanwhile be alert!