Credit Card Fraud Decriminalised

Quite a row is breaking out over the revelation that the Home Office has lessened the criminality of credit card fraud.

Victims of credit card fraud can no longer report it directly to the police.

New rules came into force in April, under these rules it is now the responsibility of banks to decide which offences to pass on for investigation.

Given that the banks will want to maintain their reputation for good security, and effective fraud controls, it is unlikely that they will be incentivised to report every single id theft.

Cynics also suggest that the new rules are a method of reducing the crime figures.

In 2006 approximately £430M was lost as a result of credit and debit card fraud in the UK last year.

A Home Office spokesman confirmed that discretion had been handed to the banks, to ensure the police could concentrate on cases "more likely to result in a positive outcome.

The Government is determined to tackle the problem of card fraud, whether the account holder is an individual or multi-million pound organisation and we are working closely with finance and retail sectors along with the police to tackle this crime."

Nonsense, the banks have no incentive whatsoever to report the failings of their security checks.

This is a green light to criminals, telling them that they can commit credit card fraud with impunity!