Do you reply to random e-mails?
As Internet scams continue to grow in number it is becoming more and more apparent that many people, despite significant warnings, are still replying to random e-mails with their personal details. There are instances of people sending over bank details, personal information, confirming passwords and confirming usernames in reply to unsolicited and random e-mails from unknown third parties. So who should be liable in the event of ID fraud in this particular instance?
From the consumer's point of view, while they are doing nothing wrong there is the simple fact that the safety of personal details is at significant risk. By handing over dates of birth, full names, passwords and other highly significant and potentially valuable information to an identification fraudster can you really blame the banks if they hand the liability back to the consumers?
While we all know that the fraudsters are the real problem and the ones who should be taking on the real responsibility and liability, the Internet has allowed fraudsters from countries around the world to access the UK and effectively move into your living room. It is highly unlikely that a fraudster from a faraway country is going to be caught in connection with a UK-based identification theft and if they are caught, very often the proceeds of crime have been passed on and are very often untraceable.
Conclusion
In these particular instances is it really wrong for a credit card company or a bank to refuse to cover any potential liability? Do we not all have a responsibility to protect our own assets, as well as the responsibility of credit card companies and banks to look after highly confidential and potentially lucrative information about us?