Internet Banking Frauds - RECORD £60M STOLEN FROM BRITONS WHO USE ONLINE BANKING

INTERNET banking fraud surged to record levels last year as criminals used increasingly sophisticated tactics to steal £60million from customers. Annual losses have almost trebled from £23.2million five years ago as thieves develop specialist software to infiltrate weaknesses in home computers.

Customers were hit by 51,000 cases of phishing, in which they were tricked into revealing their online bank details in response to fake emails from fraudsters.

In 2005 there were only 1,700 reported cases of this type of scam.

The alarming 14 per cent upturn in online banking fraud during 2009 came amid a 28 per cent reduction in credit and debit card fraud and a 30 per cent drop in cheque fraud.

James Daley, money editor at consumer magazine Which?, said: “It’s encouraging to see that banks are now starting to get card fraud under control but fraudsters are always quick to identify new opportunities and are clearly now increasingly targeting online banking services.

“A Which? investigation last year found the online security of several of the UK’s largest banks to be lacking, so it’s no surprise to us that fraud in this area is now on the rise.

“It’s a shame that the more vulnerable banks did not act sooner.”

The surge in online banking losses was mainly down to criminals using malicious software, known as malware, to target computers and steal sensitive information such as passwords and account details. Tens of thousands of customers were duped by phishing scams last year in a 16 per cent rise on 2008.

A tactic frequently used by criminals is to send emails urging customers to update or verify their account details by clicking on a link which takes them to a bogus bank website, where that personal information is captured for fraudulent use.

Brian Mairs, a spokesman for the British Bankers’ Association, said: “Banks have invested heavily in recent years in ensuring online banking is as secure as possible.

“Banks have also made a firm commitment that customers will not lose any money through online fraud unless the customer has acted fraudulently or without reasonable care.”

Losses due to credit card fraud sank to £440.3million in the UK last year, a decrease of £170million from 2008.

The fall was largely thanks to the wider use of chip-and-pin security and improved fraud detection by banks and retailers, according to industry body The UK Cards Association.

One of the sharpest decreases was in counterfeit cards being skimmed or cloned by thieves, where cases fell by more than half last year.

Cheque fraud losses decreased to £29.8million last year as a result of dwindling use and better fraud detection methods.

EXPRESS UK