§ Harry CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent reports he has received about the trend in respect of credit card fraud; what he estimates its most recent annual level in the UK was; which new forms of such fraud are giving the authorities most cause for concern; what proposals and advice he is planning to help tackle the problem; and if he will make a statement. [97172]
§ Mr. DenhamThe Government recognises that plastic card fraud in the UK has increased considerably over recent years. In the Home Office publication, "Crime in England and Wales, 2001–02: Supplementary Volume" published on 9 January 2003, it was shown that the police recorded 153,281 cheque and credit card offences in 2001–02. The Association for Payment Clearing Services (APACS) estimated the losses from cheque, debit and credit or charge card fraud in the 12 months to August 2002 at £429.4 million.
Skimming (electronically copying a card's magnetic stripe and using it to make an illegal copy of a genuine card) is a relatively new form of card fraud, which is
1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 Geographical Area Prisons No. Positive Percentage Positive No. Positive Percentage Positive No. Positive Percentage Positive No. Positive Percentage Positive No. Positive Percentage Positive Haltemprice and Everthorpe Wolds 108 27.1 168 29.8 61 22.3 71 25.1 61 13.9 Howden Constituency 86 18.0 88 17.8 58 11.9 39 7.9 16 3.3 County of the East Full Sutton 38 6.4 45 6.8 39 5.8 29 4.2 43 6.0 Riding of Yorkshire Everthorpe Wolds 108 27.1 168 29.8 61 22.3 71 25.1 61 13.9 86 18.0 88 17.8 58 11.9 39 7.9 16 3.3 England and Wales All 13,038 20.8 11,552 18.3 7,804 14.2 6,382 12.4 6,060 11.6
§ David DavisTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many crimes were committed by juvenile offenders in(a) Haltemprice and Howden, (b) the East Riding of Yorkshire and (c) the Humberside Police Authority area in each quarter since 1997; and how many cautions were issued; [97724]
106Wgiving the financial services sector and police cause for concern. Counterfeit card losses comprise over a third of total plastic card fraud losses.
The Government has committed £1.4 million over two years, in partnership with APACS, to piloting the Dedicated Cheque and Plastic Crime Unit (DCPCU). The Unit, which started work in April 2002, has enjoyed significant early success, recovering more than 3,000 cards and 468 cheques. This has led to 44 arrests and four convictions with potential savings of £5.3 million. A detailed evaluation of the DCPCU's performance will be used to inform decisions on the future of the Unit and to guide national policy for tackling organised and plastic card fraud.
The Home Office is also actively supporting the finance and retail industry in its implementation of the Chip and PIN programme. New technology will require UK credit and debit card transactions to be authorised by the customer keying in a four-digit PIN (personal identification number) rather than by signing a receipt. The banking industry expects that by 2005 the new technology will have eliminated over half of the predicted level of plastic card fraud. A public trial of the programme will take place in Northampton shortly and national roll-out will begin after the trial is complete.
The Government, working closely with stakeholders, launched its Safe Internet Shopping Campaign in 2001 to advise consumers on safe payment and give them directions to the Government's Consumer Gateway www.consumer.gov.uk which provides links to sources of detailed information.
The Government welcomes the involvement of the banking industry in actively seeking ways to prevent and detect crime such as plastic card fraud.