It is happening far too often for it to be dismissed as isolated: A lady has her bank cards stolen and goes straight to the BBVA bank to cancel them. They will not do so without a denuncia obtained from the Guardia Civil. By the time the victim gets it and returns the thieves have siphoned off 1,200?. The bank is not interested. It is her loss. Tough!

It happened to a friend of mine when her card was cloned and used at cash points in cities she had never heard of, let alone visited. She lost about 1,000?. Again the bank wasn?t interested. Tough! They stopped all her direct debits until she had replaced the money. Her son baled her out.

A newspaper reporter tells me it is commonplace. A police officer told another friend it is such a common crime that it seems everyone knows people who have fallen victim to the thieves ? and the couldn?t care less banks. The banks will not be helpful if your card is cloned, stolen and misused. In fact they will be obstructive.

My advice: Don?t deposit funds in excess of your direct debits. If you are lucky enough to have an excess then for goodness sake keep it in cash and hide it well.The banks are financed by the interest they make on our deposits. If customers withdrew all but the bare minimum they might think twice about assisting the Mafia.