Theft of Credit Cards

Since the introduction of Chip and PIN, this type of fraud has fallen and is technically known as theft rather than identity fraud.  However, if someone steals a single credit card from your wallet or purse, you may not notice for some time, particularly if you have several credit cards, and they can still make CNP purchases because they have your card and with it the security code on the reverse.

The criminal is unlikely to be detected until the card limit is reached, and even then may continue to use it for smaller below the “floor limit” of shops.  Eventually your card balance will be substantially in excess of your credit limit, at which point the card company will probably telephone you.

Advice

• Only carry as many cards as you need.  Consider also whether you actually need more than 2 or 3 credit cards?  Do you need a £5000 credit limit on the card you only use for petrol and travel expenses or supermarket shopping?  If not consider reducing the credit limits
• Keep cards you do not carry in a secure place and check regularly that these have not been stolen.  Burglars are increasingly stealing your documents or cards in burglaries rather than jewellery or electronic goods
• Cancel cards you do not use
• If your signature is easy to copy, consider changing it to something harder to imitate
• Keep your cheque book separate from your guarantee card
• When travelling in countries where the risk of theft is higher than at home, think about using travellers cheques and local currency, rather than credit cards. 

According to Barclaycard the top 10 credit card fraud hotspots are:

• Turkey
• France
• Spain
• USA
• Italy
• China
• Thailand
• Ireland
• India
• The Netherlands

Top 10 Uk Credit Card Fraud Spots in January 2009 according to the Daily Record

• London 38 per cent
• Cardiff 34 per cent
• Glasgow 31 per cent
• Manchester 29 per cent
• Brighton 27 per cent
• Norwich 25 per cent
• Southampton 24 per cent
• Birmingham 23 per cent
• Edinburgh 23 per cent
• Plymouth 22 per cent

If you are travelling abroad on holiday or business:

• Make sure your card company has up to date contact details for you including a mobile phone number
• Make sure you have the 24-hour contact telephone number for each of your cards
• Make sure your credit card limit is suitable and appropriate
• Safeguard your PIN at all times – don’t give it to anyone even if they claim to be the Police or your bank
• Shield your PIN with your free hand when typing it into a keypad in a shop or a cash machine
• Consider asking your card company for a pre-paid credit card – you can use this as you would a normal credit card but you have credited a fixed amount to the card