Upon its introduction in 2006, the chip and pin system was
heralded as an exciting new means of finally halting the rising
tide of credit and debit card fraud. But four years on, card fraud
continues to increase as criminals develop more sophisticated scams
to hijack our credit cards.
Latest figures from the industry body Financial Fraud Action UK
reveal that the incidence of card ID theft has increased by 23 per
cent in the past year, while online banking fraud is up by 55 per
cent.
Card ID theft costs banks £23.9 million in the first half
of 2009 - up from £19.5 million in the equivalent period in
2008. Similarly, online banking fraud increased from £25.2
million to £39 million in the first half of 2008.
While fraudsters are developing ever more sophisticated methods
to defraud us of our money, one way of combating the threat is to
use a pre-paid card such as Ukash, which allows consumers to shop,
pay and play online using cash. As no bank details are required,
anonymity is guaranteed and customers are protected while shopping
online.
For more information about Ukash, visit www.Ukash.com