Could your handbag be putting you at risk?

May 25, 2007

New studies have shown that women tend to carry their personal details and their credit cards in their handbags; risking their identity and leaving them vulnerable to fraudsters.

Obviously a handbag is there to carry your personal belongings, but generally credit and debit cards are better stored in your purse or in your pocket. This is because whilst you may not realise it, carrying your credit card around in your handbag is risky. What would happen if your handbag were to get stolen for example? You would more than likely end up falling victim to a credit card fraudster.

The shocking figures of the study show that 80% of women risk their credit card details by keeping them in their handbags. We automatically assume that our details are safe in our handbags but with street crime on the rise in many places, it simply is not worth the risk these days.

The sad news is that the information we often carry around in our handbags consists of not only credit cards, but also of items such as receipts, cheque books and our national insurance number. All of this information can give fraudsters everything they need to apply for loans, credit cards and mortgages in our names.

Identity fraud is on the increase and this new information shows that it is not hard to see why. We really do need to start being a little more careful with our belongings and if you do insist on carrying personal details in your handbag, always keep the bag as close to you as possible. Never let the bag out of your sight for one minute otherwise it could be stolen.

Overall identity fraud is a big problem and many fraudsters do get the information that they need from women’s handbags. So think twice the next time you put your credit card in your bag and if you must keep person belongings in your handbag, always ensure that you keep an eye on it at all times.