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Are you putting yourself at risk from festive theft?

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by Sarah Orrill

06/12/11 in Card Fraud/Theft |

Christmas is time for celebration; for friends and family, for shopping and for parties. Many of us like to let our hair down with a drink or two but in such a social situation did you realise you could be putting yourself at risk from theft?

Our research found that 1.7 million* people have had their personal possessions stolen in the run up to Christmas, and that Saturday 10 December is the peak day for festive theft**.

One in five (18%) victims had items stolen in a bar or pub, with 15% experiencing theft in a nightclub. Alcohol, unsurprisingly, often has an impact with 29% admitting they had consumed a few drinks before the theft took place.

When psychologist David Moxon assessed people’s behaviours when socialising in a central London bar, he found that a potential theft could occur every three minutes. Although 30% of customers observed placed their valuables out of sight they were still easily accessible to potential thieves.

David added: “When you’re in a social environment you are more likely to be less vigilant. If you’re happy and enjoying yourself it’s easy to think ‘happy thoughts’ about the venue and people around you which could lead to over-trustfulness and an increase in risky behaviour. Higher levels of oxytocin, which is the ‘bonding’ hormone may also be experienced and this could lead to increased – and sometimes inappropriate – levels of trust.”

This complacent attitude could leave you out of pocket to the tune of around £229 so being vigilant could help prevent you being left out of pocket.

Here’re our tips for avoiding festive thieves:

  1. Don’t carry multiple debit/credit cards in a wallet – only carry the essential cards you need
  2. Don’t leave belongings unattended
  3. Don’t carry debit/credit cards loose in a bag or pocket
  4. If your cards are registered with a Card Protection company make sure you have their emergency loss reporting number
  5. Don’t ever write down your PIN number – if it is used you could find yourself liable for any fraudulent transactions
  6. Don’t let bar staff/waiting staff take your debit/credit card out of sight – they could be copied or cloned
  7. If anything happens, report it to the manager of the venue immediately
  8. If you are concerned your cards may have been lost or stolen, contact your bank immediately to get the card cancelled


* According to research conducted for CPP by ICM, One in twenty (4%) people have had one of these items stolen during the festive season (Nov – December) (1,781,000)

** Analysis of CPP’s claims statistics from the last year shows that December 10th is the most vulnerable day for card users, with over 300 lost or stolen cards reported to the life assistance firm on this date. 

Comments

Giant007 12/12/11

That a very nice article. Thanks for sharing it in here.

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Crytek21 13/12/11

Great! Thanks for the heads up!

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achaeanneney 25/01/12

You have mentioned good thing here, Very nice article.

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