YORK, United Kingdom — A survey conducted in the United Kingdom suggests that children using their parents' credit and debit card numbers without their permission are a significant part of the online card fraud problem.
The survey was conducted online on behalf of CPP Ltd., a UK firm which helps consumers protect themselves from card fraud and identity theft. The survey was conducted online with 500 adults and 500 children, aged 8-16, between Oct. 27 and Nov. 2.
The survey found that 20% of the under-16 year old children were going online with their parent's card numbers and making purchases for the most popular gadgets, computer games and fashion accessories. A number of children also reported using their parent's Paypal accounts to make purchases.
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The pollsters also found the amounts of money that the children were spending were significant, ranging from ?25 per purchase (roughly $37) to between ?75 (roughly $110) and ?150 (roughly $221) each time.
"Being lax with details online could not only tempt children into making sneaky purchases online, but also exposes parents to the dangers of online fraud," CPP said. "Web fraudsters are getting increasingly sophisticated, and card-not-present fraud is on the rise. We are advising people to make sure they log out of sites when finished, to check that shopping websites are legitimate and to avoid storing credit or debit card details online."
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