Scotland Yard credit card swoop gets results

Police have shut down 1,219 websites which left customers vulnerable to credit card fraud.

The Metropolitan Police's Central e-Crime Unit (PCeU), working out of Scotland Yard, has been gathering intelligence on the sites over recent months.

Most were domiciled in Asia and offered heavily-discounted goods such as designer clothes.

However, shoppers who gave the sites their bank or credit card details to make payments were often sent counterfeit items or nothing at all.

It is also likely that the card numbers were subsequently used by site operators to make illegal payments.

"Fraudsters target the victim's desire to buy designer goods at reduced prices, particularly at this time of year," detective superintendent Charlie McMurdie, head of the PCeU, said.

"The risk begins when your desire to purchase blinds your judgment or leads you to illegal websites. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is."

Figures from CreditExpert revealed yesterday (December 2nd) that ID fraud cases in the UK have risen by 12% since the start of the year.