The two companies, the world’s biggest credit card processors, say that the problems have been caused by a third party vendor, Global Payments, as opposed to their own internal systems. Global Payments has admitted that there have been unauthorised access issues and that intruders may have been able to get into credit card data. It stresses that this does not automatically mean that the cards have been used fraudulently, but does mean that the cardholder information has been accessed in many cases.

The news of the possible fraud is the first major instance this year of consumer details having been put at risk by technical errors or hacking. Are you concerned that these Mastercard and Visa issues are a threat to their UK customers? Let me know of any concerns you have about credit card fraud.

Miss Air denied a single charge of fraud at Isleworth Crown Court and prosecuting counsel in the case said that it revolved around the question, did she mislead the authorities when filling in the form for the second permit by failing to declare that she already had one, for another part of London.

She told the court, in giving evidence, that the application form for the second permit was filled in by her hired help and she did not realise that it was against the law to have two at the same time. She was cleared after the jury took just 20 minutes to deliver a verdict of not guilty.

Her barrister criticised the Borough of Kensington and Chelsea for prosecuting his client, saying it was a “disgraceful waste of public funds”. Is he right and did Donna Air’s celebrity status lead to her finding herself in court when that would not have been the case with an “ordinary” member of the public? Let me know what you think.

Andrei Osipau was sentenced to three years imprisonment for what is termed a “Bonus Abuse”, which basically steals other people’s identities to open online betting accounts. His offences were first identified when an online betting company received two passports with different names but the same photograph; this was reported to the Gambling Commission who passed it onto the Gaming Unit.

Osipau pleaded guilty to five counts of fraud, eight of possession of articles for use in fraud and one count of transferring criminal property. Will the sentence deter others from trying this type of identity fraud? We will see.

The figures, from the Home Office, report a seven percent increase in car thefts which of course has ramifications for both existing car owners and those considering whether to buy a new vehicle.

The motor fraud expert HPI says that buyers should take care not to buy a vehicle which has a criminal background and the company believes that, as one in three cars on the market may have something of a shady past, prospective purchasers should always take care.

In the past signs such as window and paint scratching or marks suggesting tampering with an ignition shaft were often seen as tell-tale signs that the car may have been stolen. Those responsible are now more adept at hiding these signs, but there is still much that a buyer can do to check.

This includes checking the documents carefully and making a used car check, while the AA offers an AA Car Data Check and the HPI does its own check which can identify the owner of the car and whether there is any outstanding finance on it. If you have any more advice for those considering buying a car, we d be glad to hear it.

BDO s FraudTrack report shows a notable increase in fraud in all sectors, reaching 2.1bn in 2011 compared to 1.4bn the year before. BDO s head of fraud, Simon Bevan, said that banks are trying to remedy the problem by focusing on external issues whereas the real difficulties may be closer to home.

He said that the most serious frauds were often committed by employees, even though most in-house fraud teams were comprised of ex-police officers and suggested this was because they were too busy looking out to credit card fraud and phishing by criminals rather than looking inwards at employees involved in commercial lending, mortgage or rogue trading fraud.

The report brings to mind last year s case of two bankers with Barclays who were jailed for three years after taking 1.4m from customer accounts to pay for an organised crime ring.

It seems that some of these operators are even able to clone SIM cards when one calls them back and so, from one simple call back, they are able to make a separate handset with the serial number of the caller s phone which will make calls at his or her expense. It appears that, though foreign governments may be well aware of the issues and the problems being caused to innocent people who just happen to make a return phone call, they are powerless to act in the absence of stringent information and technology laws.

The calls are being made from a number of different countries including India, Pakistan, the Czech Republic and a number of West Asian and African countries.

As to what the caller can do to avoid being sucked into this trap, first of course they should not return a number that is unknown to them, especially an international missed call if that can be identified by the number. If they do make such a call hang up immediately and certainly do not disclose any personal information including bank account details etc. The caller can also report the matter to their operator and follow it up in this way while there is also the option of getting a new SIM card if all else fails.

It s a basic mistake but a costly one if made, so people should always proceed with care when faced with a situation like this. Do you have any experience of this type of fraud? Let us know if you have and also let us know any other safeguards that can be made to limit the damage caused.

Margaret Hodge, the Labour MP, who is also chair of the Commons public accounts committee, has tabled a parliamentary question asking if the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will suspend its contracts with the company until the inquiry has been completed. The company has said that the incident, which is being investigated, took place a couple of years ago and it seems that it relates to A4e receiving payments for finding jobs for people which ultimately lasted just a single day.

MPs are also said to be concerned about the poor standards of service taking place at the company s offices in Slough, over the way in which it had delivered the Flexible New Deal programme, a jobseekers initiative.

A4e says that it has a zero tolerance attitude towards fraud and that it takes its responsibilities seriously. However, it is not the first time that the company has been involved in scandal as, in 2008, employment forms submitted by the company were found to have contained the falsified signatures of employers.

Without referring directly to the A4e case which is still the subject of investigation, is fraud a problem in this particular area? We d like to know what you think.

Chip and pin may have helped in some way but it continues to be prevalent in various forms. There is card-not-present fraud, which is where the fraud takes place, not in person but over the phone or through the internet, fax or mail order and the criminal obtains debit and credit card details to make fraudulent transactions. This is the biggest type of card fraud within the UK.

The most common cash machine fraud is termed “skimming” which occurs when card readers and small cameras are attached to the cash machine in order to capture card details and to record the victim keying in their pin number. Another form of skimming takes place in situations such as in a restaurant where a corrupt employee puts the card through a device which copies the data from the card’s magnetic stripe.

These are perhaps the most common types of fraud but there are others, including bank details phishing, which is becoming more common and takes place when fake emails appear in a person’s inbox which look as if they have come from that person’s bank and is used by criminals to gain passwords and bank account details. Others include pharming, using a fake website to access a person’s online bank account and intercepting financial mail where debit and credit cards are stolen from the mail.

As to what a person can do when they find themselves the victim of card fraud, they should firstly get in touch with the card issuer as soon as possible after the discovery to cancel any further transactions. Also credit reference agencies can be contacted to check that no fraudulent applications for credit have been made in their name.

Also, of course people can help themselves by checking their bank accounts often to make sure there any no unexplained transactions which have been recorded, while people at cash machines should be wary of those around them, making sure that they keep their hand over the cash machine to ensure the numbers are not identified by a potential criminal. Also, if they suspect a device has been attached to a machine they should contact the bank or the police to explain their suspicions.