Public must be more “savvy” over financial fraud

People need to become more “savvy” about online fraud in order to avoid credit card debt being accrued in their name without their knowledge, it has been suggested.

Fraudsters are becoming “smarter” about accessing individual’s accounts and taking advantage of the “trusting” nature of most people, according to Simon Crisp, director at Shopsafe.co.uk.

He warned that scams such as phishing emails, which pose as being from a trusted source in order to obtain personal information, are fooling many members of the public.

Consumers must become more “sceptical” of such correspondence, Mr Crisp said, adding that the issue is a “great concern”.

“Never ever give out passwords, usernames, or anything like that when invited to by email,” he advised.

Recently, Apacs, the UK payments association, reported that card fraud totalled £609.9 million last year, while online banking fraud losses amounted to £52.5 million.

Transactions without Chip and Pin protection are one of the major drivers of such criminal activity, the body stated.

By Jamie Price