The card fraud hotspots in the UK have been announced by life assistance company CPP.
Brighton came top of the list, followed by London, Manchester, Bristol and Leeds in joint fourth place, and Edinburgh in fifth place.
CPP’s research has also found that 13million people in the UK have been affected by card fraud.
How does card fraud happen?
Most victims of card fraud (20%) had the magnetic stripe on their card cloned at an ATM or via a Chip and PIN machine. One in five victims was defrauded online with criminals using the internet to obtain their card details. A third of card fraud victims discovered they had been a victim of fraud after their bank contacted them, while 6% were refused money at an ATM.
According to CPP’s research, 18% don’t check ATMs to see if they’ve been tampered with, 17% don’t shield their PIN at cash points, and 16% admit to leaving their cards out of site in shops and restaurants.
CPP has released their top ten tips to help avoid being a victim of card fraud:
- don't carry multiple debit/credit cards in a wallet – only carry the essential cards you need
- don't leave belongings unattended while shopping
- don't carry debit/credit cards loose in a bag or pocket
- if your cards are registered with a Card Protection company make sure you have their emergency loss reporting number
- don't ever write down your PIN number
- don't let a shop assistant take your debit/credit card out of sight – they could be copied or cloned
- don't let someone else take money out on your behalf
- check your receipts against your statements when you get home
- if you are concerned your cards may have been lost or stolen, contact your bank immediately to get the card cancelled
- make sure your bank has up-to-date contact details for you, including your mobile phone number in case they need to check if transactions are genuine.
Read more about CPP’s card fraud research on CPP’s website.
Please note: Action Fraud is not responsible for the content on external websites.
To report a fraud, call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or use our online fraud reporting tool.
