Card holders must remain vigilant against the threat of card fraud

10 March 2010

The UK Cards Association has confirmed that online banking fraud losses across the UK rose to £57.7m (an annual increase of 14%). Despite banking fraud losses rising, there are encouraging signs in the war against fraud, with counterfeit fraud falling by half (52%), cheque fraud falling by 29% and fraud on credit and debit cards falling by more than a quarter to £440.3m.

Top tips to reduce the chances of falling victim to card fraud:
1. Make sure your post is secure and you know when to expect your credit and debit cards if you have ordered new ones.
2. Don't let your cards out of sight in a shop or restaurant – they may be copied or cloned.
3. Don't write down PIN numbers, passwords or user names.
4. When you enter your PIN in a shop or a cash point, cover the number from prying eyes or hidden cameras.
5. Sign up to Verified by Visa and MasterCard SecureCode as it will largely put a stop to lots of unauthorised online spending
6. If you store personal information on your PC, install up-to-date security software
7. Only carry the cards you need in case your have your wallet/purse stolen
8. If you move house, tell your bank, credit card and utility providers. Use the Royal Mail redirection service and consider registering with the mail preference service at www.mpsonline.org.uk to prevent mail going to your old address.
9. Keep your personal information safe. If someone asks for your personal details ask yourself why they would need them. This applies to online, telephone, postal and doorstep enquiries.
10. If you store valuable documents at home - for example, passports, driving licence and bank statements - keep them hidden and secure.

Sarah Blaney, card fraud expert from CPP, says: “Whilst these latest industry stats may be good news for the banks and customers, fraudsters are not going to simply disappear over night.

“They will be looking for the next easy target and the increase in online banking losses is the result of over 51,000 different phishing e-mails targeting people’s financial and personal information. A new category of Phone Banking losses has also been included for the first time as criminals look to target consumers directly, bypassing the banks security systems, which are very hard to penetrate.

“CPP’s own figures show that card fraud remains a huge problem. Our recent annual Card Fraud Index showed that over a quarter of cardholders had fallen victim at least once, with a third of these being targeted online. And worryingly, over a third of these had no idea how their details fell into the hands of fraudsters.

“It’s vital that consumers don’t become complacent and that they put processes in place to reduce their chances of falling victim. Cardholders need to remain vigilant by checking their statements regularly, ensuring that they never let their cards out of their sight and only using trusted sites when shopping online.

“The use of online fraud prevention solutions that make card purchases more secure like Verified by Visa and MasterCard SecureCode are also making a big contribution to reducing fraud.”