Since we brought you our ‘5 top tips for avoiding financial crime’ the criminals have been keeping busy, which means we have more advice to help you and your family stay safe and secure from financial crime.

Watch out at the Gym
Man goes to the gym.  After his workout, he saw his locker open, he flipped open the wallet to make sure all was in order.  Everything looked okay - all cards were in place.  A few weeks later his credit card bill came - a huge bill of £14,000!

When he called the credit card company for an explanation, they verified that there was no mistake in the system and asked if his card had been stolen.  He took out his wallet, pulled out the credit card; an expired similar credit card from the same bank was in the wallet.  The thief broke into his locker at the gym and switched cards. The credit card issuer said since he did not report the card missing earlier, he would have to pay £9000 of the total amount owed to them!

Q.  Why were there no calls made to verify the amount swiped?
A.  Small amounts rarely trigger a ‘warning bell’ with some credit card companies.  All the small amounts added up to a big one!

Be careful at Restaurants
Man in a restaurant pays for his meal with his credit card…The bill for the meal came, he signed it, and the waitress folded the receipt and passed the credit card along.  As luck would have it, the man took a look at the card and, unbelievably, it was the expired card of another person.

He called the waitress, she looked perplexed.  She took it back, apologised, and hurried back to the counter under the watchful eye of the man.  All she did while walking to the counter was wave the wrong expired card to the cashier, who immediately looked down and took out the real card.  No exchange of words — nothing!  She took it and came back to the man with an apology.

Make sure the credit cards in your wallet are yours…Check them every time you sign for something and/or the card is taken away for even a short period of time.  Don’t just assume it is yours.

…And don’t forget the Pizza shop
Man went to a pizza shop to pick up and pay for his order with his credit card; the young boy behind the counter took the card, swiped it, and laid it on the counter as he waited for the approval, while he waited, he picked up his mobile phone and started dialing.  The man noticed the phone because it is the same model as his own, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary.  He then heard a click that sounded like his own phone when it takes a picture.  The boy gave the man back his card but kept the phone in his hand as if he was still pressing buttons.  What is he taking a picture of?

It then dawned on the man: the only thing to take a picture of was his credit card; the man now pays close attention to what the boy is doing.  He set his phone on the counter, leaving it open.  About five seconds later, the man heard the boy’s phone beep; telling him the picture has been saved.  The boy just took a picture of the man’s credit card, had they not had the same kind of phone, the man probably would never have known what happened.  Needless to say, the man immediately cancelled his credit card as he was walking out of the pizza parlour.

DEVELOP THE HABIT OF CHECKING YOUR CREDIT CARD EACH TIME IT IS RETURNED TO YOU AFTER A TRANSACTION!  Never let your card out of your sight…….check and check again!  Beware of your surroundings and of what other people are doing when you are using your credit card.