| If the new figures showing that crime as a whole is | | | | are increasingly aware of their plight. Indeed, they are |
| falling in England and Wales have you unscrewing the | | | | now more worried about credit card fraud than they |
| locks to your front doors and casting them into the | | | | are about violent crime. |
| nearest bin, then take heed: the small print shows that | | | | The survey found that 53 per cent of those asked |
| credit card fraud is actually on the up. | | | | were worried about having their cards stolen and used |
| The figures, part of the latest British Crime Survey | | | | fraudulently, compared to 14 per cent who worried |
| from the Home Office show that last year, 6.4% of | | | | about becoming a victim of violent crime. Just over half |
| plastic-card owners had fallen victim to fraud | | | | of those who fell victim to card fraud said they |
| compared with 4.7% the year before, making it now | | | | suffered no monetary loss, although 25% were more |
| the most common type of theft. | | | | than £150 out of pocket. |
| The British Crime Survey Card defines fraud as using | | | | Of those who suffered from card fraud, only 14 per |
| plastic payment cards, such as bank, debit, credit or | | | | cent reported it to the police after noticing the problem, |
| store cards, to take money without permission or prior | | | | while 91 per cent reported it to their bank or building |
| knowledge from a bank, building society or credit card | | | | society. |
| account. | | | | It seems the banks have responded to these |
| Rather than targeting older people as is usually the | | | | increases by making vast improvements to their |
| case, the figures show that fraudsters prefer the | | | | customer service skills, as has been the case with the |
| middle age range. These were more than twice more | | | | Virgin Money credit card. |
| likely to fall victim to fraudsters than those in the 16 to | | | | Of those victims who discovered themselves they |
| 24 years and 75 years or over brackets. | | | | had been victims of fraud, satisfaction with the way |
| Similarly, unlike most other crimes, plastic card | | | | the matter was handled were higher for banks, building |
| victimization also increases with higher household | | | | societies and credit card companies than for the police. |
| income. Just 2.7 per cent of card owners in | | | | This lack of trust in the police has led to increasing |
| households earning under £10,000 had been targeted, | | | | numbers of card holders acting to protect themselves |
| compared to 11.7 per cent of card owners in | | | | against fraud. The majority (96%) of card owners took |
| households with an income of £50,000 or more. | | | | at least one measure to avoid their bank, building |
| This could be partly because these groups are less | | | | society or credit card account details being obtained |
| likely to have bad credit rating credit cards which have | | | | by someone else. |
| smaller credit limits. | | | | Seventy-eight per cent of people surveyed routinely |
| However, the study didn't find anything about travel - | | | | destroyed any documentation that contained personal |
| which may see users of use abroad credit cards | | | | financial information. In addition, 76 per cent said they |
| breathing a sigh of relief. | | | | regularly reviewed their bank statements to make sure |
| As the figures show the second consecutive annual | | | | all transactions were legitimate. |
| increase since 2006/07 it seems the card-holding public | | | | |