Banks 'must take hard line against card fraud'

Banks must do more to prevent credit card fraud, the chairman of the Treasury select committee has said.

 

Labour MP John McFall was responding to new figures revealing a record £500 million worth of credit and debit card thefts.

 

Banks, credit card companies, and retailers were hoping the new chip and PIN system would cut fraud, but the statistics suggest the opposite has happened.

 

Figures from the Association for Payment Clearing Services show a 20 per cent rise in credit/debit card fraud last year, equivalent to £10 for every adult in Britain.

 

Many of the frauds occurred after cards were intercepted in the post and used fraudulently.

 

McFall told ePolitix.com: "Banks and consumers have to work together to combat fraud. Pre-activated cards are obviously a major problem and banks must work to strengthen the security of their delivery procedures."

 

But McFall also warned that card users must play their part in combating fraud.

 

"Similarly consumers will have to be increasingly mindful of the disposal of their personal information from receipts to credit card statements," he said.

 

"The chip and PIN system, given time, should help to bring down fraud but with the sheer volume of cards in circulation ever tighter security measures will be required to protect both consumers and banks from this very expensive problem."

 

The British Retail Consortium said that in future "we should be in more of a position to see the impact that chip and PIN has had on card fraud".