BRITONS are not, as far as any survey can determine, the most stupid people in Europe.
But we do appear to be the most naive when it comes to hi-tech fraud.
The level of credit and debit card fraud in Huddersfield has grown by 50% over the last year.
We were fleeced of £1.5m, and all that can be said is that our gullibility is no better or worse than that of folk in Hull, Halifax or Honiton.
Chip and pin technology has reduced shop counter crime, here as elsewhere. Where we go wrong appears to be in transactions over computer links, when caution seems to go to the winds.
Online banking fraud losses rose from £22.6m in 2007 to £52.5m last year.
Huge numbers of us do not take basic steps to protect our personal details from criminals.
We don’t secure our broadband connections, we respond to ‘phishing’ by handing out banking details online to anyone who asks and we can even be conned by sad stories outside the town centre ATM.
Research for National Identity Fraud Prevention Week recently found that one in five households does not check bank statements for discrepancies, one in three does not report lost documents such as passports and driving licences, while 43% do not look into why expected mail has not arrived.
“Many consumers still don’t know how to protect themselves,” said campaign spokesman Tyron Hill.
And we are blasé about victimhood, it appears.
Mark Lacy, chief executive of the Kirklees branch of the Citizen’s Advice Bureau said: “If there has been an increase in ID fraud we are not seeing it in terms of our clients. We think that victims of this crime would be most likely to go to the police rather than come to the CAB.”
Identity fraud is typically when criminals use a person’s identity to apply for credit, usually by stealing or intercepting bank statements or bills.
More than four million Britons have fallen victim, with average losses of £2,000 on a credit card and £7,000 on a current account, according to shredding machine maker Fellowes, which backed the campaign.
David Keo, personal finance expert at money advice website fool.co.uk, said: “You’ve worked hard for your money so when it comes to protecting yourself against ID fraud, trust no-one.”
Regularly checking a credit file is one of several ways to spot fraud early. Major credit reference agencies Experian, Equifax and Callcredit allow consumers to download a copy of their file online.
They also offer credit checking services, which for £3 to £6 a month alert consumers when someone applies for credit in their name.
People can also write to the company and order a copy of their file by post for £2.
There are insurance policies that can help consumers if they fall victim to ID fraud, though these are expensive. Lloyds TSB’s PrivacyGuard costs £1 for the first 30 days and then £6.99 a month.
The 2006 Fraud Act, which came into operation on April 1, 2007, moved the onus of investigating card fraud from the police on to banks and building societies.
But these are taking less and less of the blame for card or online fraud and are less and less likely to compensate a victim for loss.
Banks may be responsible for collating fraud figures and passing these to police, together with any evidence they uncover of major criminal gangs, but critics said the banks were able to manipulate card fraud figures to mislead the public about the severity of the issue.
