Credit fraud is a massive problem in the UK, Europe and the rest of the World. It is now estimated that millions of pounds are stolen every single year via credit card fraud, and that the problem is gradually getting worse.
But it’s not all bad news, as a judge this week jailed a gang of four criminals, responsible for numerous credit card thefts throught the UK over a prolonged period.
Theogones De Montford, a software engineering student, was jailed earlier this week for four and a half years, with the judge calling him ‘one of the most prolific fraudsters in the UK’. The three other members of his gang were sentenced to three years each for their part in a long line of credit card fraud.
Operating in several different areas of the UK, including Sussex, Bristol, Cambridge, Leicester and Kent, the gang would place hidden devices in credit card readers that would then send the details back to a laptop via Bluetooth. It was heard that the gang would then collect the credit card details and sell them to other credit card fraudsters in the UK and overseas.
The criminals were especially hard when it came to their victims, even ripping off those with poor credit credit cards , as well as the elderly and disabled.
Usually operating in and around petrol stations and garages, the criminals managed to collect the details of more than 35,000 people. Many of those people would have already been struggling with bad credit in a tough financial and social environment.
It’s nice to see this kind of predatory criminal behind bars, and it appears to be a major win for the police force, who claimed that they had seen ‘a significant reduction in the number of chip-and-pin frauds in the UK’.
If you find you’re genuinely concerned about being a victim of credit card fraud, there are some simple and easy steps you can take. When you’re at a cash machine, check quickly for any suspicious devices around the card reader section of the machine. If you spot something you’re not happy with, just walk away and find another machine. You should also ensure you cover the keypad anywhere you need to input your pin. You would also be well advised to only use machines in a well lit, reputable area that’s preferably filmed 24 hours a day. If you still don’t feel comfortable, you can always call one of the several credit advice numbers and ask for someone to talk you through improving your personal finance security.
Posted under Miscellaneous Content
This post was written by admin on September 2, 2010
