Hold on to your credit card – distance buying fraud costs £110 million a year

Purchases where the credit card is not seen by the retailer have increased dramatically over the past few years. This year 81% of British shoppers who use debit or credit cards will buy Christmas presents over the internet, by mail order, phone or fax, according to the survey published yesterday by APACS.

There has been a 33% increase in fraud over the last two years in relation to "card-not-present" transactions, amounting to £109.6 million for the year June 2002 to June 2003. These transactions depend on the fraudster obtaining card details – often from discarded credit card receipts.

Yet the survey found that cardholders do not seem to be taking even the most basic precautions.

More than a third of the 2000 cardholders surveyed admitted that they never destroyed their bank or credit card statements or receipts. One in five cardholders surveyed had let other people use their card to make distance purchases (e.g. over the internet), with a similar number checking their bank and card statements only sometimes, rarely or never.

Sandra Quinn, spokesperson for APACS, had this advice for shoppers:

"Check your statements carefully for fraudulent transactions. Burn or shred those
statements – and card receipts - when you have finished with them. Don't let
your card out of your sight – and don't let anyone else use your card or have
sight of your card details."