Rise in bank card fraud recorded

Britain’s fraud prevention agency, Cifas, has reported an increase in card fraud in the first three months of this year, with many cardholders finding themselves at the receiving end of identity theft. The agency claimed that it recorded around 27,000 victims of this type of fraud during the first quarter of the year, reflecting an increase of 6000 or 23 percent.

There has also been a 45 percent increase in the number of cases where the fraud has been highlighted when it too late and the fraudsters have already got away with the cash. Fraudsters are said to be using a range of tools and methods of getting hold of details of customers, including social networking sites such as Facebook in cases where consumers are careless with their personal information.

Consumer campaign group Which? said that many people were increasing the risk of becoming victims of card fraud by writing down their PIN because they cannot remember it. Some people have even given their PIN to other people that they feel they can trust, but this can also increase the risk of falling victim to this type of fraud.

In a poll nearly 10 percent of people that admitted to writing down their PIN said that they had a copy of it written down at their workplace. The campaign group said that if cardholders were found to have been careless with their PIN or personal details then there was no guarantee that they would be reimbursed if they fell victim to card fraud.

An official from Which? said: ‘The results show that too many consumers are putting their finances in jeopardy by not taking simple precautions. Writing down your Pin is like leaving your door open when you leave the house.’

Tags: which, Cifas, fraud, credit card fraud, identity theft

Equifax: Be ‘cautious’ about ID fraud

Consumers should be more wary of people trying to steal their identity details, an expert at Equifax has advised.

Neil Munroe, external affairs director at Equifax, said that an individual’s personal credit profile could be worth “several times more” than their maximum limit on their credit card.

According to CIFAS, the total number of fraud cases the organisation received by the end of the first quarter of 2008 was 52,286, which represented an increase of ten per cent compared with the same period in 2007.

The number of occurrences which involved a fraudster impersonating someone in order to takeover their bank account were up by 146 per cent.

Mr Monroe commented that the authorities should also make an effort to combat the issue: “There is a list of precautions that individuals should take but it’s not just an individual’s fight, it is a combined fight and the government need to be doing more around it and so do companies.”

Tags: first quarter, end, list, credit, quarter, authorities, Cifas

Check your credit profile to stamp out fraud, urges expert

With a recent report finding that account fraud is on the up, a financial expert has urged consumers to regularly check their credit profiles to help stamp out the crime.

David Kuo, head of personal finance at Fool.co.uk, said that current financial conditions are pushing people to extreme lengths to get hold of credit, but that consumers can protect themselves by checking their credit profiles to make sure that fraudulent activity is not taking place.

According to research by the UK’s fraud prevention service CIFAS, the number of instances of facility takeover, or account takeover, increased by 146 per cent in the first three months of 2008 when compared with the same period last year.

“If you are a consumer and you haven’t recently checked your credit reference, go and have a look at it just to make sure there is not anyone out there making fraudulent applications on your behalf,” Mr Kuo advised.

Tags: law, service, Instances, credit card fraud, Cifas, UK's fraud prevention, report, David Kuo

Identity theft victims older than fraudsters

Consumers who are victims of identity theft are older than the fraudsters they are conned by, shows new research.

Findings from CIFAS, the UK’s Fraud Prevention Service, revealed that males in their 40s are the most likely to become victims of identity fraud than any other age group.

Peter Hurst, chief executive with CIFAS, said: “While our research into fraudsters revealed that the typical fraudster seems to be getting younger, this displays a quite different picture.”

He added that the CIFAS research shows that that the more tech-savvy, younger, sections of society are more aware of the need to protect their data, and therefore take greater care.

Those in their 40s, who may be seen as more resource rich and burden light compared with younger spenders, are supposedly a particular niche group to exploit, said the service.

Instances of identity theft are thought to be on the rise with nearly 30 per cent of Brits falling victim to identity theft within the last 3 years, according to a poll of UK credit professionals, by the Credit Show.

Tags: younger spenders, Cifas, group, picture, Social Issues, shows new research, rise, credit