Device to combat 'shoulder surfing

A device being piloted on the high street could protect people using credit and debit cards from "shoulder surfing" thieves seeing pin numbers as they are entered.

Chip and pin was introduced in an effort to combat card theft, since the thief would need both the card and its owner's Pin number in order to use it, as well as the cloning of cards with magnetic strips.

However, the system has been criticised as it is relatively easy for people to simply look over a person's shoulder to see their four-digit number as they enter it.

The new device was designed by Neil Radford of Warwick University and was originally aimed at helping partially sighted people pay using chip and pin keypads.

The technology includes a magnifying lens, which enlarges the display on the keypad and means that only the person standing directly in front of the machine can read it.

The device is being piloted by Boots in a Cambridge store and further trials will be held with the Royal National Institute for the Blind in June and July.

Sandra Quinn, of the trade association for card payments, Apacs, said the device would make people feel more comfortable when paying for goods by card.

She added that it was only by testing new equipment that stores would find the best and most secure way to use the chip and pin payment system.