Bank account fraud prompts calls for security reviews

Almost 30% of the record number of frauds recorded by the UK's fraud prevention service (CIFAS) last year was aimed at bank accounts, which has prompted a review of how securely we behave online, reports info4security.com.

Between 2010 and 2011, bank account fraud rose by 4%, which it's reported is largely down to identity-related crimes. Identity fraud rose by 35%, including impersonating someone without their knowledge, while incidents of taking over someone else's bank account grew by over 42%.

The communications manager of CIFAS, Richard Hurley, commented that online banking is incredibly convenient and no one wants to give that up, but at the same time it leaves more people vulnerable to falling victim of bank account fraud. He said: "It's imperative, therefore, that when banking online both individuals and businesses constantly review their security practices and safety protocols to ensure they're completely up-to-date."

In 2011, 62% of bank account takeover fraud and 74% of all identity fraud were committed online and there are a growing number of cases where people commit fraud using their own bank account too. There were 41,000 examples of people fraudulently using their own bank account in 2011 alone and over half of them involved paying in fraudulent cheques or electronic payments.

Following the record number of frauds recorded by CIFAS last year, thinkbanking produced a guide to protecting yourself from fraud online - Being safe online: how not to fall foul of fraudsters.