Tesco cancels credit cards after fraud concerns

9th March 2018

Tesco Bank has cancelled some of its customers’ credit cards, after concerns that a number of accounts may have been compromised. The bank said that only a tiny number of its three million credit card users would be affected, and apologised for the inconvenience.

A Tesco Bank spokesman said “We take the security of our customers’ accounts very seriously and take every measure possible to protect customers from fraudulent activity, As a result of routine industry-wide fraud protection measures, we have reissued a number of credit cards as a precautionary measure.”

Commenting on the newsShakila Hashmi, Head of Money, comparethemarket.com, said “The news that Tesco has had to cancel some customers’ credit cards is evidence of rising consumer financial fraud. Our recent research indicates that over 5 million adults had to cancel credit or debit cards in a 12 month period due to attempted fraud, while over £1 billion had been stolen from accounts during that time. Digital banking is the new frontier for criminal activity and whilst banks are doing their best to prevent fraud, people need to take action to protect themselves. It is essential to regularly change passwords and ensure you have a range of passwords for different accounts. Increasing vigilance, particularly when making payments, is critical to keep the fraud frenzy at bay.”