Police anti-corruption unit investigated over payments
22.05.2012, 18:16:43
Detectives from Scotland Yard's anti-corruption unit have allegedly received payments from a firm of private investigators Scotland Yard is investigating allegations that detectives working for its anti-corruption unit have been paid thousands of pounds by a firm of private investigators. A parliamentary inquiry was told today that invoices, also seen by the Guardian, purport to show how a firm of private investigators made payments in return for information about the Metropolitan police investigation into James Ibori, a notorious Nigerian fraudster. On Tuesday, the Commons home affairs select committee was told by a lawyer involved in the case that invoices showed about £20,000 of potential payments to police officers in what amounted to an undetected case of "apparent corruption right at the heart of Scotland Yard". In recent weeks, as the Guardian investigated the allegations, the Met has sought to discourage the paper from publishing details about the case. But , after MPs heard the evidence, the Met dropped its previous insistence that there was "evidence that casts doubt on the credibility" of the allegations. A police source with knowledge of the investigation, which has been ongoing since October, said developments over the last 24 hours had now led police to take the allegations more seriously. The case revolves around a private investigation firm called RISC Management. Five years ago the firm was hired to work for Ibori, a former Nigerian state governor, after he discovered he was being investigated by the Met for serious fraud. Ibori recently pleaded guilty to money laundering and was jailed in the UK, after the conclusion of a major investigation into his financial affairs. The allegation now being investigated by police is that some detectives on the Met's Proceeds of Corruption Unit, which investigated Ibori, were receiving payments in exchange for information about the ongoing investigation. Invoices and other documents appearing to support the allegations have been anonymously posted to the Met and Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC). The documents have also been seen by the Guardian and separately sent to the home affairs committee, which is conducting an inquiry in whether private investigators should be subject to statutory regulation. Keith Vaz, the chair of the committee, has said there is growing concern in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal that some private investigators are operating in "the shadows" of the law. The Commons inquiry has been scrutinising the nexus between private investigators - many of whom are retired police officers - and their former colleagues who are still serving. On Tuesday morning, Mike Schwarz, a lawyer who represents one of Ibori's co-accused, told the inquiry about what he understood to be the significance of the material. He said it indicated possible corruption at the heart of the police investigation into the Nigerian politician's money laundering activities. The invoices are alleged to be from RISC Management to Speechly Bircham, a top firm of lawyers hired by Ibori to prepare his defence. Schwarz told MPs the invoices "perhaps" documented "payments made by RISC Management to sources, presumably police officers or those close to the investigation". He added: "The records, which I think the committee have, show about half-a-dozen payments totalling about £20,000 over a period of eight or nine months [...] it appears to be inappropriate if not corrupt." Schwarz told the committee that he believed RISC Management had been hired to "extract" information from the police investigation into Ibori. He said he had also seen emails - which he believed had also been forwarded to the committee - which confirmed "contact" between detectives investigating Ibori and the private investigators. Schwarz, from Bindmans solicitors, represents Bhadresh Gohil, a London-based solicitor jailed along with Ibori for orchestrating his money laundering scam. Gohil is now considering an appeal. Gohil is understood to have been sent the invoices, anonymously, while in Wandsworth Prison last summer. In a statement, the Met said: "The [force] is investigating an allegation that illegal payments were made to police officers for information by a private investigation agency. The Directorate of Professional Standards (DPS) referred the matter to the Independent Police Complaints Commission in October 2011 which agreed to supervise a DPS investigation into the allegations." Following Schwarz's evidence to parliament, the Met said it had dropped its previous claim to have recently "uncovered evidence" casting doubt on the allegations. Previously, the force had suggested an active line of inquiry was the theory that Gohil or his associates had fabricated the allegations to undermine the prosecution. In a previous statement, provided on Friday, the force said: "As a result of inquiries police have uncovered evidence that casts doubt on the credibility of these allegations. Warrants have been executed at two addresses in London and a quantity of paperwork and computer equipment recovered." Two weeks ago, following raids on properties, one of which was the Gohil's family home in Kent, the force said: "Officers believe that they have identified the originator of the information and a line of enquiry suggests that there may have been an attempt to pervert the course of justice." However, sources at the Yard said previous statements no longer fully represented their position. A source with knowledge of the Met inquiry said the change of stance was unrelated to Schwarz's parliamentary evidence. The source said that, instead, there had been developments in the investigation over the last 24 hours. Schwarz named three serving Met police officers in his testimony to parliament as being potential "culprits": detective inspector Gary Walters, detective constables named as John MacDonald and "Clark". All three officers declined an opportunity to respond to the allegations when contacted by the Guardian last week. However, RISC Management indicated Walters would deny "any and all allegations". RISC Management denied all the allegations about the company, saying it was not aware of the Scotland Yard investigation and had no knowledge of the alleged financial records. The firm confirmed it had been hired by Ibori's lawyers but denied making corrupt payments, saying it "has never paid a serving police officer for information and would never approve such payments". Keith Hunter, chief executive of the company, said: "RISC management does not need to pay serving police officers for confidential information as we pride ourselves on our ability to provide positive solutions and accurate information legitimately. RISC Management has a highly respected reputation for conducting professional investigations". He added that his company was "proud to have a network of highly professional consultants, contacts and resources. These individuals are hired precisely because of their unique skill set and expertise". He accused Schwarz of "grandstanding" in front of the Commons committee, instead of taking the "correct course of reporting the matter to the police". He said Schwarz had not produced any evidence to support his claims and acted for a convicted solicitor, Gohil, who was jailed for seven years for money laundering. Speechly Bircham denied any knowledge of wrongdoing and said it would be willing to assist with any police inquiries. The law firm stressed Schwarz did not suggest in his evidence to parliament that Speechly Bircham was "party to illegal or corrupt payments" and said any such allegation would be false and defamatory. Ian Timlin, the former Speechly Bircham lawyer who was at the time representing Ibori, said neither he nor the firm had "any knowledge of any payments to police officers for information." He added: "At no time, did RISC ever inform me who or what was the source/s they were paying." Metropolitan police Police Rob Evans Paul Lewis guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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Benefits cut threat to addicted jobseekers
22.05.2012, 19:00:38
Iain Duncan Smith to signal measures allowing Jobcentre Plus staff to dock allowances for claimants who refuse treatment Unemployed people suspected of suffering from alcoholism or drug addiction will have their benefits cut if they refuse treatment for their condition, the work and pensions secretary, Iain Duncan Smith, will signal on Wednesday. In a sign of the government's new benefits regime, which lies at the heart of Duncan Smith's cost-cutting welfare changes, staff in Jobcentre Plus offices will be encouraged to cut the jobseeker's allowance of claimants who reject treatment for addiction. The new rules will come into place in October 2013 when the universal credit, which is designed to wrap benefits into one payment, is introduced. A new claimant contract lies at the heart of the universal credit reforms. Claimants will have to sign a contract in which they agree to look for work in exchange for an undertaking from the government to support them while they do so. Government sources said the contract would allow Jobcentre Plus staff to say that a suspected addict is in breach of their commitments if they refuse help for alcoholism or drug addiction. Duncan Smith will give a flavour of the new rules when he addresses an event in parliament organised by Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). He will say: "The outdated benefits system fails to get people off drugs and put their lives on track. We have started changing how addicts are supported, but we must go further to actively take on the devastation that drugs and alcohol can cause. "Under universal credit we want to do more to encourage and support claimants into rehabilitation for addiction and starting them on the road to recovery and eventually work. Getting people into work and encouraging independence is our ultimate goal. Universal credit will put people on a journey towards a sustainable recovery so they are better placed to look for work in future and we will be outlining our plans shortly." It is understood that the work and pensions secretary will not make a formal announcement on Wednesday of the powers that will be handed to Jobcentre Plus staff. Duncan Smith wants to use the event to focus on what he regards as the positive work AA does in helping to treat alcoholism. A government source said: "Iain wants to focus on the brilliant work Alcoholics Anonymous does in changing people's lives. He really wants to encourage people who have drink problems to go to AA for treatment. It will transform their lives and will help them into work." The source said Duncan Smith believes it is right to give jobcentre staff powers to cut benefits if an addict refuses treatment because they can detect signs of trouble. The source said: "The universal credit will allow staff in Jobcentre Plus offices to say: this person has been unemployed for some time. The staff know if people are addicted to alcohol. They know the people they are dealing with. "But we want this to be positive and to be about signposting people to superb organisations that can help them. This is about changing their lives. It is very important to support addicts into the workplace." But if claimants refuse they will have their benefits docked. "There will be sanctions," the source said, citing cuts to the jobseeker's allowance as an example. Ministers believe that one indicator Jobcentre Plus staff can use to see whether a claimant is an addict is the amount of times they apply for a crisis loan. "If you are applying for that up to 10 times a year then that is a sign of a chaotic life," one source said. Analysis by the Department of Work and Pensions shows that almost 40,000 people claim incapacity benefit with alcoholism declared as their "primary diagnosis". Of these, 13,500 have been claiming for a decade or more. There are about 160,000 "dependent drinkers" in England who receive one or more of the main benefits. There are 1m violent crimes a year that are related to alcoholism and 1.2m admissions to hospitals a year related to alcoholism. Universal credit is the most important element of Duncan Smith's welfare reforms, developed during his years in opposition through his Centre for Social Justice, which is designed to achieve his central goal of encouraging people into work. It will integrate tax credits and out-of-work benefits into one payment, with the aim of smoothing the transition to work. Labour has given the universal credit a cautious welcome, though it has taken issue with the scale of benefit cuts. Lord Low of Dalston, the vice-president of the Royal National Institute of Blind People who sits as a crossbencher, told peers this year: "Though it has some very sensible and progressive things at its core, in the shape of the universal credit, nevertheless it goes too far to most people's consciences in the way in which it takes vital support away from some of the most needy in our society." Benefits Iain Duncan Smith Welfare Alcohol Drugs policy Drugs Health Health policy Public services policy Nicholas Watt guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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Shafilea Ahmed trial: sister describes seeing parents carry out killing
22.05.2012, 19:15:04
Alesha Ahmed gives evidence from behind a screen during trial of her parents for 'honour' killing of her older sister The sister of a teenager killed in an "honour" killing told police she watched her parents suffocate her sister by forcing a carrier bag into her throat so she couldn't breathe and placing their hands over her face, a court heard on Tuesday. Alesha Ahmed, now 23, said she watched her parents "acting together" as, she said, they murdered her older sister Shafilea Ahmed, 17, in September 2003. Taxi driver Iftikhar Ahmed, 52, and his wife Farzana, 49, deny murdering their eldest daughter, whose badly decomposed remains were found near a flooded Cumbrian river in February 2004. Andrew Edis QC, prosecuting, told Chester crown court that on the night of Shafilea's death, Alesha saw her parents suffocate her sister at the family home in Warrington, Cheshire. He said: "Both parents, acting together, got a carrier bag that they forced into her mouth. Their hands were over her face, closing her airways so she couldn't breathe." Giving evidence from behind a screen on Tuesday , Alesha wept as she recalled how a knife was used during a previous "frantic attack" by her parents to scare Shafilea. She also told how Shafilea was given a drugged drink by her mother before flying to Pakistan. On the trip, Alesha said, her father threatened Shafilea, saying: "If something happened to her, no one would find out." Alesha alleged that everyone in Pakistan carried guns and their father said: "There's a gun back there [a reference to another room]." On the night of her sister's disappearance on 11 September 2003, the prosecution said, Alesha "talks about looking into the kitchen and seeing her mother sorting through a pile of blankets and sheets. She saw her mother with black binbags and two rolls of wide brown tape and some black tape." Looking out of the kitchen window, she saw her father with a large object wrapped in binbags and brown tape, "which she assumed was the body of her sister". At around 10pm, she heard a car driving off with the body inside and her father at the wheel, while her mother stayed in the house. The following evening, there was a sighting of a white van in Sedgwick when Alesha was "telling her mates in Warrington that her father had killed her sister and chopped up the body", Edis said. In court, Alesha recalled an occasion when a knife was used to scare Shafilea: "They were just hitting her, it was quite frantic really and out of control. She was just sat there and taking it." She told the court she thought her parents were trying to scare her, but the incident left marks on Shafilea's neck. On another occasion, Shafilea was kept in a room above a garage conversion at the house and not given food for two or three days. "Mum would abuse her and not give her anything to eat for a long period of time," she said. Alesha said her sister didn't want to go to Pakistan in February 2003. When she woke up on the morning of the flight, her mother gave Shafilea a drink. She overheard her mother and uncle talking about the intoxicating effect of the drink. "They were being kind to her," she said of her parents. "I think they just wanted to make her think that everything was OK and nothing was going on." She said Shafilea had the drink and became complicit. "She was a bit slow at the airport. She was having to lean on the trolleys." Alesha didn't tell her about the drink because it was too late "and she would've probably felt betrayed by me. I was the person who just stood there, but at the time it was difficult to speak up." When she woke up in Pakistan, Shafilea had a disagreement with her father, and it was then that he made the veiled threat about the gun and no one finding out if anything happened to her, she said. Alesha said that her parents had not been particularly observant of the Muslim Faith until after their daughter's death, "but they did fast during Ramadan". She described their lives as "more restricted than Western culture, what to do with your free time, going out with friends, who you can see and the clothes you can wear". "Because my Dad was at work more, it was more my Mum who laid down the rules in a sense. Most time, Dad used to work evenings and most of the days." She said: "I think Shafilea found it difficult. She had a life that our parents didn't know about - it was a secret life, as well. There was a lot of secrecy about things that were going on at college in order for her to live her life like she wanted to." The conflict, she said, was about "what she used to wear and who she spoke to. It really deteriorated when she was 14 to 17." She added: "There would be physical abuse. It was both of them, but because Mum was at home more often, it was more her, but they were both involved." Asked by the prosecutor how often it happened, she replied: "Too often. It was every day or every other day. The arguments and little slaps, especially the last few years before her death." In November 2003, a covert listening device was placed in the Ahmeds' house. They were recorded discussing evidence and talking about using the press to get away with murder. Iftikhar Ahmed is heard to say: "What are they going to find in the car?" Farzana was heard "discussing about bodily fluids and said 'No, and even if they find saliva in the car, it's not as if she didn't sit in the car'." Edis argued it was an odd thing to be doing if their daughter was alive and well. Iftikhar said: "By getting the support of newspapers, you can get away with murder", Edis told the court. The bug recorded Iftikhar saying that the UK justice system works on proof, adding: "Without any proof even if you sisterfuckers kill 40 people, until it is found, they can't do anything to you," Edis told the jury. He said that in a robbery took place at the family home in Liverpool Road, Warrington August 2010. Three men entered the house and tied everyone up, apart from Alesha. "The reason she was not tied up was she was involved," Edis said. At an earlier hearing, Alesha pleaded guilty to this. She will be sentenced later. Edis said she is "either telling the truth about the death of her sister which she has kept under wraps for years for family loyalty and eventually, perhaps, because that relationship with her parents has become toxic, she allowed herself to become involved in the robbery". "Is it the truth or is it a wicked lie?" Edis concluded. He described the murder as a bombshell and questioned why she would make it up. The trial continues. Crime Forced marriage Helen Carter guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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London Olympics legacy: defining success
23.05.2012, 06:27:00
The post-games regeneration vision has remained steady over time but its true tests still lie in the future I've been trawling YouTube for regeneration aspiration clips down the ages. Here's a punchy CNN summary from June 2009: Thanks Jim. See how we've moved on - and maybe slightly back again - with the stadium. Note that promise about "affordable" homes and how the meaning of the word "affordable" has, well, gone upmarket since David Cameron moved into Number 10. Now fast forward to last February and a short speech by Andrew Altman, chief executive of what was then called the Olympic Park Legacy Company. It's now called the London Legacy Development Corporation and will have overall control of the evolution of the Olympic Park and its immediate surroundings after the Games themselves have been and gone. I've seen Altman deliver several versions of this speech. He sets out the big, future picture: a long-term shift in the focus of London's growth towards the east; accelerating and unifying the regeneration process; "unlocking potential" in the form of 500 catalysing acres with fab amenities in an incredible, transport-linked location; fuelling the dynamics of place-making, and so on. That's what the long game looked like 15 months ago. Now, we have four contenders to become tenants of the stadium , two to transform the press and broadcast centres into a thriving commercial hub in the post-Games era and a blueprint for providing up to 8,000 homes. The park will begin to re-open from July 2013, and the LLDC promises that it will be "for all of London." The Olympic Park is, perhaps, the ultimate test case for grand scale urban regeneration. I hope it passes. But how, I wonder, should we define success? Regeneration Dave Hill guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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Andy Coulson voicemails to Charles Clarke's aide allegedly hacked
23.05.2012, 06:17:40
Scotland Yard investigates NoW hacking of its editor's messages in 2006 to Hannah Pawlby, then aide to the home secretary Voicemails left by Andy Coulson for a former aide to former Labour home secretary Charles Clarke are believed to be among those allegedly hacked while he was editor of the News of the World. Coulson is one of a number of journalists whose messages to Hannah Pawlby were allegedly targeted by the News of the World in 2006, when he was in charge of the now-closed Sunday tabloid. Ian Kirby, former political editor of the News of the World, said the Metropolitan police believe that his voicemails to Pawlby were also allegedly intercepted when she was special adviser to the ex-Labour home secretary. Scotland Yard has also told Jon Craig, chief political correspondent of Sky News, that his messages to Pawlby were allegedly targeted by Glenn Mulcaire, the former News of the World private investigator. It is understood that voicemails left by the BBC correspondent, Carole Walker, and the Times journalist, Francis Elliot, were also intercepted on behalf of the paper. Pawlby is suing News International after police said her phone was hacked while she was special adviser to Clarke in 2006. Detectives from the Metropolitan police's Operation Weeting investigation into phone hacking are contacting those allegedly targeted by the News of the World. Craig, a veteran politics correspondent for Sky News, said he has contacted lawyers over the saga but is not believed to be actively exploring legal action against Rupert Murdoch's newspaper group. Kirby, who was political editor of the now-closed Sunday tabloid at the time, said he was told by police that his messages were intercepted on behalf of his own newspaper. He said: "My details, including private telephone numbers, were also uncovered in Glenn Mulcaire's notes. Our politics team was never involved in hacking in any way. I still do not now know who decided to intercept messages I left with a contact, or why." Pawlby was an aide to Clarke throughout his time as a cabinet minister, from education secretary in 2002 to home secretary until 2006. She filed the legal claim at the high court in London last week. A spokeswoman for Coulson's legal representatives declined to comment on client matters. The Met police said it would not provide a running commentary on Operation Weeting. News International had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication. Phone hacking Andy Coulson Newspapers & magazines National newspapers Newspapers Press intrusion News of the World Metropolitan police Police Josh Halliday guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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Olympic torch route, day 5: meet Cheltenham's unstoppable golden girl
23.05.2012, 06:00:01
Lizzy Davies is put to shame by Miss Wixey - the retired games mistress who can't stop competing, at 91 As the torch sweeps into Cheltenham late this afternoon, past the Coade stone caryatids of regency Montpellier and the Gap store on the Promenade where David Cameron did his Christmas shopping, Mary Wixey, 91, will be warming up. This will hardly be the most testing event in her athletic career - that may have come last month, battling through the Finnish cold for a medal at the World Masters, or the year before when, at the European Championships, she triumphed in the veterans' shot putt and discus and brought home a bag of gold medals to add to her collection. But the 300m stretch up Evesham Road towards the Pump Room and the Racecourse may prove the most emotional run of the retired games mistress's long and active life. Nominated for torch-bearing duties by a former pupil who thinks she's "marvellous", Wixey will be running not only for herself, but for the town in which she was born, bred and has lived all her life. "I feel now I've just got to be relaxed," she tells me, in a broad Cheltonian accent, sipping tea from a china cup amid her medals, sashes, award ceremony photographs and geraniums. "I'm excited, but I wouldn't say nervous." The torch will wend its way near much of the Cheltenham beloved of outsiders: the Racecourse with its media types down from Chipping Norton, for instance, and the Ladies' College with its lavish sporting facilities and fern green jumpers. It will not encroach on Hesters Way, where Wixey lives in a modest semi-detached bungalow and where the last school she taught at on a full-time basis - then known as St Benedict's - lies empty, awaiting demolition. Its sports hall, to her chagrin, has been closed "for the foreseeable future". Wixey, who began teaching (and fire watching for second world war bombs) in 1941, taught games to generations of Cheltenham girls throughout her career. Jane Evans, who had her at Charlton Kings Secondary School (now Balcarras comprehensive) during the late 50s and early 60s, remembers the indefatigable teacher winning over the girls with her "very enthusiastic, very fair, very strict" style of teaching. Did Evans like games with Miss Wixey, as she still calls her? "Loved it." I wonder what Miss Wixey would have made of me. She and I attended the same school - Pate's, the local grammar school - but there the parallels end. Never an aspiring Olympian, throughout my school years I maintained a vigorous pursuit of sloth; I would bunk off swimming to go and spot boys in McDonald's. What would she have done with girls like me? "I would get your friends to encourage you," she says. Nice idea, I think, but you never met my friends. For plenty of other girls who did like hockey and rounders and the long-jump, however, "Magic Mary" - as the Gloucestershire Echo has dubbed her - was clearly an inspiration. For 30 years she taught in three different schools, and remembers fondly the trams, the country dancing, the traipsing to the playing fields ("they even had their own groundsmen then"). Nowadays she remains chipper, if a little hard of hearing, and focused on her church-going (every Sunday) and her exercise (even more often: she competes in as many tournaments as possible, such as last month's Tipton Open Games in which she won three gold medals). The doctors, she says, had a simple message for her the last time she paid a visit. "Two words at the end," she says. "'Carry on!'" Olympic torch Olympic Games 2012 Lizzy Davies guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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Ninety-one-year-old athlete takes gold - video
23.05.2012, 06:00:00
Mary Wixey, 91, a former school PE teacher from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, competes at an athletics meeting in Tipton, near Wolverhampton
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Credit card holders targeted with phone-call-and-courier scam
23.05.2012, 05:30:01
Fraudsters contact cardholders, claiming to be from their bank, and use a recorded dialling tone to prove veracity of phone call before persuading victims to hand over their plastic Fraudsters are targeting credit card users with a sophisticated scam which dupes people into handing over their credit cards and pin numbers, the Payments Council has warned. The scam involves a fraudster calling a cardholder, claiming to be from their bank and telling them that their debit or credit card needs replacing and collecting following a fraud on their account. The fraudster suggests the victim hangs up in order to call the bank back and ensure the call is genuine. However, the fraudster stays on the line, keeping it open. They then play a recording of a dial tone so that when the victim picks up their handset again they think they are really calling their bank. The criminal then asks the person to read out or key in his or her pin number, before sending a courier to collect the card. The victim is told the card is going to the bank to be changed, but it is actually delivered to the fraudster to use along with the pin obtained during the scam. To make sure they maximise the amount they can steal from the victim's account, the fraudsters advise the victim to disconnect their telephone line. This prevents the card-issuing bank from being able to contact the cardholder to check transactions are genuine. Fiona Keen, a former police civilian worker, had £15,000 stolen from her credit card and current accounts on 4 January. "I got a call from a panicky sounding man in the evening saying he believed my Barclaycard had been used for a 'Section 24' fraud, and that to prove I hadn't used the card he needed to send a courier round to collect it. I balked at first, but he reassured me, asking me to call the customer service number on the back of my Barclaycard. I got straight through and was referred to the fraud department, so I thought it must be OK." The fraudsters kept Keen on the phone for two hours until a man in a taxi arrived to take six of her cards, including the debit card for her current account. They also persuaded her read out her pin and to disconnect her landline and broadband for two days so they could "wire the money stolen" from her account back to her. "The fraudsters used my cards to buy computers and phones at what seems like every branch of Argos in London," Keen said. "They also spent hundreds of pounds on food and drink, and made cash withdrawals." Fraud losses on credit and debit cards fell to £341m in 2011 - a 10-year low - and while the money lost through this scam is still small at £1.5m, the Payments Council is concerned at the speed with which it is increasing: £750,000 was stolen in the first four months of 2012: the same amount as the whole of 2011. It added that cardholders should never hand over their cards or reveal their pin numbers to other people, even if they claim to be from a bank or the police. DCI Paul Barnard, head of the bank-sponsored Dedicated Cheque and Plastic Crime Unit - the specialist police unit that tackles UK card and cheque fraud - said: "Many of us feel confident we can spot fraudsters, but this type of crime can be sophisticated and could happen to anyone. "If you become a victim of this type of crime, you should contact your bank in the first instance. If you have friends or relatives who you feel may be vulnerable to this, please help them to be more aware of the potential risks and what to look out for. Remember, if you are the innocent victim of card fraud you will not suffer any financial loss." Scams Banks and building societies Credit cards Debit cards Consumer affairs Jill Insley guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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