Browse Sections

• Personal finance 
• Health and beauty
• Dating
• Holidays
• Hotels
• Food and drink

Beat bank fraud

Martyn Hocking, Which? Money editor.
16/ 6/2008

LOSSES from credit and debit card fraud reached £535m in 2007 - up 25 per cent since the previous year - and around a third of Which? members tell us that they have had money fraudulently taken from their credit card or bank account.

While these statistics are worrying, the good news is that if you are a victim of fraud you should get all or most of your money back from your bank or credit card company. You can also take steps to decrease the chances of it happening to you in the first place. Encouragingly, a new Which? Money survey shows that consumers are generally more security conscious than they were last year.

CHECK FOR ROGUE TRANSACTIONS

Examine your bank and credit card statements carefully to check for any transactions that you don't recognise.

Keep receipts from debit and credit card purchases to help you do this. According to a new Which? Money survey, the majority (93 per cent) of Which? members check their statements for rogue transactions. This proportion was the same when we carried out a similar survey in January 2007.

Report any fraudulent transactions you spot to your bank or card provider immediately to prevent fraudsters taking any more and to get yourmoney back.

RIP UP OR SHRED DOCUMENTS

Fraudsters commit identity theft by stealing personal information about you and using it to take out financial products in your name or take over your bank or credit card accounts. Identity theft currently makes up seven per cent of overall card fraud, according to figures from Apacs, the trade association for UK payments.

To stop fraudsters getting their hands on your details from documents in your rubbish, shred or rip up old bank statements, utility bills, receipts and anything showing your name and address before throwing it away. If you move house, you should also redirect your mail to your new address using Royal Mail's redirection service for at least a year afterwards.

Around the same proportion of you are ripping up or shredding documents now as you were in 2007 - 92 per cent.

DON'T USE YOUR MOTHER'S MAIDEN NAME

When you are picking passwords for financial websites, avoid using information that could easily be obtained by fraudsters, such as your mother's maiden name. If you are asked to use your mother's maiden name by a bank, invent a new one instead of using her real one.

A combination of letters and numbers is the most secure form of password.

Fewer of you are now using your mother's maiden name as a password. In 2007, 60 per cent ofWhich? members said they did so, but just 53 per cent do so now. However, this means that more than half of you are still not wise to the dangers - if you are one of them, change it.

HIDE YOUR PIN

`Shoulder surfing' (looking over your shoulder) when you are withdrawing money or shopping is an easy way for fraudsters to find out your Pin before stealing your card. To stop this happening, shield your Pin with your hand when you are entering it into a machine and be aware of anyone standing behind you while you are doing it. Both this year and in 2007, around nine in 10 of you said you shield your Pin.

DON'T LET YOUR CARDS OUT OF YOUR SIGHT

Your card details could be stolen by a fraudster using a device to swipe the card when you use it in a shop or petrol station, so make sure you can see your card at all times. This practice is known as `skimming', and unscrupulous shop workers sell your details to criminals, who can use them to buy goods or set up payments from your bank account.

Encouragingly, our survey shows that more of you are now making sure that your cards are visible at all times during a transaction. Fifty-two per cent now say they always keep cards in sight, compared with 43 per cent in 2007.

CHECK FOR `HTTPS' WHEN SHOPPING ONLINE

The beginning of the address of a secure website will change from `http' to `https' when you are paying for something online, and an image of a padlock will appear, usually at the top of the computer screen.

Check that this happens when you are shopping on the internet, to make sure your payment details are protected. Fifty per cent of you are now doing this, compared with 45 per cent in 2007.

You should also protect your computer with anti-virus software and a firewall to prevent fraudsters accessing your hard drive.

You don't have to spend a fortune doing this - the Which? Computing free Best Buy AVG Anti-Virus software can be downloaded from the website free.grisoft.com without charge.

KEEP EMERGENCY NUMBERS TO HAND

It's important to notify your bank or credit card provider as soon as possible if your cards have been lost or stolen. You should also do this if you notice fraudulent or suspicious transactions on your statements.

It is worth keeping a note of relevant telephone numbers in your purse or wallet for this purpose, so that they are quickly accessible even if you are away from home.

Surprisingly, only 49 per cent of you said you keep these noted (in 2007, 57 per cent of people said they did).

DESTROY CARDS OR CHEQUES YOU NO LONGER USE

Rip up or shred old chequebooks, and destroy debit or credit cards you no longer use by cutting through the magnetic strip, card number and security number on the back. This will stop them falling into the wrong hands if you are burgled.

Most of you say you now do this - only 25 per cent of Which? members said they have cards or cheques they no longer use, in our latest survey, compared with 31 per cent in 2007.

DON'T USE THE SAME PIN FOR ALL YOUR CARDS

If you use the same PIN for all your credit and debit cards and they are stolen, a fraudster who has cracked it for one card will have cracked it for all of them. The same is true for passwords on financial websites.

Worryingly, almost half of you (48 per cent) said you still use the same Pin for more than one card. This figure was 50 per cent in 2007.

DON'T LET OTHERS USE YOUR CARDS

Never allow someone else to use your debit or credit cards by giving them your PIN.

This could be seen as acting without reasonable care by your bank should any money be taken from you fraudulently.

Fortunately, only one per cent of you say you do this, compared with two per cent in our 2007 survey.

DON'T WRITE DOWN PINS OR PASSWORDS

Never record your Pins or passwords in a way that would make them accessible to fraudsters - and never store them with your cards.

While the Banking Code says you are not liable for more than £50 if your card is lost or stolen and used fraudulently, this does not apply if your bank can show that you acted without reasonable care.

NEVER GIVE ACCOUNT DETAILS TO UNEXPECTED CALLERS

If someone contacts you by phone or email, claiming to be from your bank or credit card company, don't give out any personal details without first making sure they are who they say they are.

In reality, your bank will never ask you for your PIN or password over the phone.

Only one per cent of you said you have given out passwords over the phone.

Don't click on links in `phishing' emails either.

These are used by fraudsters to gather your details, often through bogus `bank' websites that are designed to look like genuine ones.