Card fraud hot spots in Yorkshire

The annual Card Fraud Index from life assistance company CPP reveals the five card fraud hot spots in the UK are:

1, Brighton

2, Manchester

3, Leeds and Bristol (jointly)

5, Edinburgh

Sheffield was joint twelfth.

However, overall in 2010 there was a three per cent reduction in the number of card fraud offences with seven per cent of people saying they had suffered from card fraud in the last 12 months compared to 10 per cent in 2009. However, experts warned fraud remained a problem and people need to remain vigilant.

Victims have had their cards cloned at an ATM or via a Chip and PIN machine, with others defrauded online with criminals using the internet to obtain card details.

Although card fraud has decreased year-on-year, consumers are still practising behaviour that could put them at risk.

The survey found 27 per cent don't check ATMs to see if they have been tampered with, 22 per cent don't shield their PIN numbers at cash points and 12 per cent admit to letting cards out of sight in shops and restaurants.

Sarah Blaney, card fraud expert at CPP, said: "In 2010 we saw a three per cent decrease in incidents of card fraud in the UK compared to the previous year.

"This in itself is good news and shows how progress is being made to reduce the number of victims.

"In particular, online fraud has decreased, which could be a result of industry initiatives such as Verified by Visa and MasterCard SecureCode."