More than 7 million Brits are now victims in ‘Card fraud capital’
Researched recently published by the European Security Transport Association (Esta) has found that almost 20 per cent. of the adult population of the UK have been the target of a credit or debit card fraud. This equates to more than 7 million Brits having been the actual victims of credit card fraud in the UK.
 The new findings published by Esta put the UK squarely at the top of the European credit card fraud league table – with Brits now twice as likely to fall victim to a credit card fraud than anywhere else in Europe.
The problem with credit card fraud in the UK has now become so acute, Esta’s report also found that almost a quarter of the 7 million Brits who had fallen victim to credit card fraud in the past had now decided to stop using their credit cards altogether and had returned to making payments the old fashion way – using cash.
If being the unwitting victim of a credit card fraud is not enough to ensure you protect your UK credit card information, according to Mike Bowen, spokesperson for Esta, the reality of the situation could actually be worse as “a separate study by the European Commission has found that almost a third of card fraud victims are never reimbursed for their loss by their credit providers, despite claims to the contrary by banks.”
Comparable with the rest of Continental Europe, the risk of falling victim to credit card fraud in the UK is clearly high. Esta’s report found that a mere 11 per cent. of Continental Europeans had been victims of credit card fraud. While this should be of no comfort, as it equates to 22 million unlucky people having been victims of card fraud in Continental Europe alone, it nonetheless also means that you are half as likely to fall victim to a card fraud on the Continent as you are at home.
With the UK now unofficially being the ‘capital of card fraud’, UK credit cardholders should show vigilance and be extremely cautious about divulging their credit card information to people they don't know. Moreover, if you ever use your credit card in a UK high street retail store you should ensure that your credit card never leaves your sight. With the introduction of CHIP and PIN technology in the UK, there really shouldn’t be any reason why you need to let any store take your credit card off you in the first place. However, if you are ever in any doubt that you may have become one of the growing number of Brits who have fallen victim to credit card fraud in the UK, you need to make sure you call your UK credit card provider at the first available opportunity – because you don't want to be hit with the double-whammy of being a victim of credit card fraud and also having to pay for the credit card debt because your credit card provider refuses to reimburse you.
Alisdair Milton
3rd November 2006
More Information:
- Identity Theft
Identity theft is a major issue in the UK, and with good reason. It has been estimated that it can take up to sixty hours of work to recover a stolen identity, and in the worst cases, cost up to £8000 to put right. But what can be dome to prevent this?
- ‘Vishing’ – A New Type Of Credit Card Fraud
With the full integration of Chip and PIN technology in 2005, credit card fraudsters now have to look for ever more ingenious ways to try and defraud UK credit cardholders. Topping this list is a very ingenious and sophisticated telephone scam that fraudsters are using to obtain the credit details of cardholders – ‘vishing’.
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