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Credit card fraud has hit new heights, with London being named as the credit card fraud capital of Britain for the second year running. Figures released by insurance company CPP showed that 38% of people had been victims of credit card fraud in 2008. In 12 months, almost three million people in the capital were affected " a third of all cases in Britain and a 10% jump on previous figures. The average amount stolen was 650, although some had lost considerably more. Often, victims were only made aware of the crime when they had been contacted by their bank and hadnt been aware up until that point that their details had been stolen.

These worrying statistics show just how easy it is for determined criminals to get access to sensitive personal details, pin numbers and credit card information. Online fraud is of particular concern for many people as millions of very convincing but utterly fraudulent emails are sent to accounts every day, pretending to be from legitimate banks and asking for customers to confirm their details. These emails " known as phishing emails " look like the genuine article and once a customer has responded to the request their details are in the hands of the criminals and the bank account starts to empty very quickly.

However, there is a very easy way to protect yourself against this kind of attack and that is never respond to any email asking you to confirm sensitive information. No bank will ever ask you to do this legitimately either by phone or by email, so you can be sure those that do are scams. If you have any doubts, contact your bank directly. The growth of online auction sites and Internet shopping has given criminals a new route into peoples personal details, but again it is fairly easy to carry out a few basic checks to ensure that the site you are using is secure. A secure site should have a URL address that includes the prefix https and a padlock icon in the bottom right hand corner of the screen. If these are missing then the site is unsecured and so are your credit card details.

Skimming credit cards has become an increasing problem in Britains busy high streets and 21% of credit card fraud is a result of this practice. The insertion of readers that skim the details of your credit card as you use an automatic cash dispenser or a small camera that photographs pin numbers as they are punched in are examples of increasingly high tech methods employed by fraudsters. If an ATM machine shows any indication of being tampered with, avoid using the machine and report your suspicions to the bank. Covering the keypad with your hand is a very low-tech way of beating any spy cameras that may be trying to photograph your pin number as you enter it.

One of the commonest mistakes people make is to have the same password for all their Internet activity. This is fine until that password becomes common knowledge to a fraudster. Avoid using obvious passwords such as pets names or birth dates as passwords " these are the first things that fraudsters will check and once they have access to your details it is easy for them to start using your credit card with impunity. The first you will know about it is a nasty shock when the next monthly bill arrives. However, by ensuring that your passwords are secure and unique you can foil the fraudsters before they take advantage of your credit card limit. These are all easily employed methods that anyone can use to beat the scammers, but what about the banks? What are they doing to ensure your details are safe?

After a flurry of reports about personal banking details being left in rubbish bags for refuse collection, the banks and financial institutions are now much more conscientious over the security of their customers details. They are also working much more closely with the Police serious fraud and high-tech units in an attempt to combat the rising tide of fraud and identity theft. It is a continuous battle as many of the fraudsters operate outside the UK. But by pulling together in a concerted effort perhaps the UK can shake off its reputation of being an easy target for the cyber-criminals and fraudsters and secure the general publics details from prying eyes.