Which? expresses concern over security of plastic cards

Concern over the security of plastic payment cards has been expressed by the consumer group Which?. According to the group many consumers are failing to exercise caution when it comes to their credit and debit cards, which could put them at risk of fraud and identity theft.

Officials from Which? said that too many consumers are far too slack over their plastic card security, despite the rising level of plastic card fraud. According to the report many consumers pick a far too simplistic password for their accounts, making fraud easier, and many also use the same PIN for all of their cards, which can also increase these risks.

One official said: “There’s a lot more people can do to prevent fraud occurring. Shredding documents and checking your bank statements are a good start, but people need to be wise to basic fraud risks such as using their mother’s maiden name as a password, or shopping on websites that aren’t secure.”

Another official added: “If someone wants to steal your identity it can be possible to discover your mother’s name before she got married. And using just one Pin number for several cards obviously exposes you if you have the details of any card stolen from you.” Both banks and authorities are urging consumers to ensure that they are vigilant about details such as their PIN and passwords in order to reduce the risks of fraud.