February 15, 2010
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News: UK Creates Specialist Crime Fighters
As cyber crime continues to escalate, shopping online has become more and more of a concern to credit card customers. Many individuals have been so discouraged by the threats that they have given up shopping online all together. Cyber crime has become a growing global concern as every country has been affected by identity and credit card theft. Police authorities, lenders, and private organizations alike have developed and implemented new security rules and software aimed at protecting customers’ sensitive and valuable information. Most national governments have also joined efforts to help fight off online fraud. The United Kingdom (UK) government officials have been the most recent authoritative power to join the ranks of cyber crime fighting warriors. The UK government has announced the development and implementation of a new cyber fighting enforcement specialist team that will be dedicated to the promoting the safe use of credit cards online.
The specialist team was created in response to recent research conducted by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) which demonstrated that online credit card theft cost the UK billions of dollars a year. To begin the initiative, the UK government has committed to a three investment in the program. Heather Clayton, Senior Director of the OFT, stated that the organization hopes the commitment will increase public confidence and encourage them to return to using their debit and credit cards for online shopping. Clayton also said that consumer protection while they shop online is a top priority for the agency.
The new cyber crime fighting team will begin looking at the activities of a commercial websites and taking the necessary steps to immediately halt any suspicious or abusive practices. The team will be particularly focused on scams that attempt to lure credit card customers into bogus merchandise offerings and counterfeit products. They will also be looking into a recent report that a chip and pin technology could make customers more vulnerable to card fraud.