27 March 2007
Consumers are being urged to exercise caution and to take simple steps when shopping online to make sure that their credit card details aren't at risk.
Card not present fraud - where con-artists use someone else's credit card details to shop online - hit nearly 3.5 million people over the last year, according to the latest research by the government and industry online safety campaign, Get Safe Online.
A report from the group reveals that credit card customers who experienced fraud online lost £875 each on average. Despite this, only 48% of those polled felt they were responsible for their own online safety and 16% believed that their bank was wholly responsible for their online protection.
Pat McFadden, Minister with Responsibility for Transformational Government, said: "The internet is transforming how we get and use information. It is also helping us reform our public services around the needs of the individual.
"However, as we make more services available online so we need users to take the same basic precautions in using the internet as they would when making transactions in the high street - such as not sharing your bank details or passwords.
"This survey shows that although the internet offers great opportunities for people to carry out their business when and how they like, people must also take care if we are to stop criminals abusing greater popular use of the net," he concluded.