Online Credit Card Use Reaches New Record High
It’s official, the phenomenon known as the Internet has finally caught up with UK shoppers. In the past year, UK credit cardholders have collectively spent over £22 billion online, which is an astonishing £6 billion more than we spent online in 2004. Approximately 10% of this, or £2.8 billion to be more precise, was spent by Britons bargain-hunting at online auction sites. For the first time ever in 2005, more than half of all adult Britons made an online purchase.
With the changing face of UK credit card use now being such that it is more likely for a UK credit cardholder to use their credit card online than it is for them to use that same credit card in a retail outlet, we do, however, need to remain ever vigilant against UK credit card fraud. With the universal introduction of Chip and PIN cards in 2005, many credit card fraudsters in Britain have moved away from traditional credit card fraud and are now targeting the increasingly popular use of credit cards online.
As a result, making sure you remain alert to any potential Internet credit card fraud is very important and should always remember not to divulge your UK credit card details online if you have any doubt that these details may then be fraudulently misused. For example, do not respond to e-mails asking you for your credit card details, no matter how attractive the offer may be! You should also stay up-to-date with current news items that identify new credit card frauds to make sure the circumstances don’t match yours and that you don’t fall foul of the fraud if someone tries it on you.
Obviously, technological innovations over time does mean that there will be a shift in our behavior. The recent growing use of UK credit cards over the Internet is clearly one modern and up-to-date example of this. With even conservative projected expectations of how much we will be spending online in 5 years from now showing that this trend is going to continue increasing at alarming speeds. As such, make sure that you do not fall foul of any online identity theft or UK credit card fraud by making sure that you keep both your personal and credit card information safe at all times.
Remember, if you think you may have been the victim of an online credit card fraud, telephone your UK credit card issuer’s emergency hotline and make sure that no transactions are being processed on the card. Here, time really is of the essence because it likely that any credit card fraud that does happen on your UK credit card will happen with the first few hours after disclosing your information to a credit card fraudster.
Richard Smith
2nd August 2006
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