Public Advised on Secure Terminal Payment Practices

Algérie Poste has released a series of essential recommendations designed to enhance the security of electronic payment transactions conducted via electronic payment terminals (TPEs) across Algerian businesses. These guidelines, which emphasize user vigilance, aim to protect cardholders from potential fraud and ensure that daily transactions occur without incident. The national postal service highlights that the security of payments primarily depends on the user's conduct, offering easily applicable precautions for all cardholders.

Among the key precautions, Algérie Poste stresses the critical importance of safeguarding the confidential PIN. Users are advised never to share this sensitive information with anyone, including merchants or telephone interlocutors, and to always mask their hand when entering the code on the terminal keypad. This guidance follows previous warnings against fraudulent phone calls targeting cardholders, underscoring that legitimate agents will never request a PIN or an OTP code. Furthermore, cardholders must ensure their bank card remains visible throughout the entire transaction to prevent data copying and should always remember to retrieve their card once the payment is validated to avoid potential fraudulent operations by unauthorized individuals.

Additional advice from Algérie Poste includes verifying the sum displayed on the terminal screen before confirming the payment to prevent merchant entry errors, which could lead to immediate financial prejudice. Users are also encouraged to remain attentive to messages on ATM interfaces, especially given recent changes that have shifted the PIN entry stage. In cases of doubt regarding a terminal's display or condition, particularly if it appears damaged or tampered with, customers are advised to choose an alternative payment method. Beyond the point of sale, continuous account monitoring via the ECCP application is recommended to quickly identify and report any unusual debits, thereby strengthening protection against fraud attempts.