Don't leave your wallet open to the fraudsters

The financial information you carry with you may be putting your money at risk, says TRICIA PHILLIPS

- TRICIA PHILLIPS

 

DURING the past decade most of us have transformed our behaviour and switched to digital.

It’s happening in all aspects of our lives, from writing emails instead of letters, to reading e-books instead of paperbacks and shopping online instead of venturing out to the high street.

Then there was the Covid pandemic, which accelerated the use of digital services as a way of stopping the spread of the disease.

Nowhere has this digital revolution been more evident than in banking and payment habits, where the rise in online accounts, bank apps and contactless payments has come at the expense of bank branches and cash.

Despite all these changes, most of us still carry a wallet or purse around with us each day.

And as a result we are potentially leaving ourselves open to fraud because of the things we carry around in them.

A debit card is found in 89% of wallets or purses, followed by cash at 69% and credit cards at 51%, according to research by financial consultancy Enryo. Meanwhile, 60% of us keep our driving licence in our wallet or purse.

And then there’s the people breaking the golden rules of security – 4% carrying their PIN numbers written on a piece of paper, 1% with passwords for financial services written down, and 3% carrying the two-factor authentication device given to them by their bank.