David Davis: Online fraud victim

May 14, 2008

David Davis, shadow home secretary, today admitted he’s the latest victim of internet credit card fraud and described the government as failing on online security.

He discovered the problem when his card was declined at a petrol station, and with a degree in computer science is astounded that he has fallen victim to the crime. He insists all his computers have the latest security and encryption and describes himself as “computer literate as anybody not actually working in the industry”.

Pointing out that the government has repeatedly lost peoples data - child benefits, online driving licence applications, NHS patient database records - he calls for getting the law enforcement basics right as a priority. Just one in a hundred online fraud crimes are currently investigated by the police.

Best advice for staying safe online is constantly changing making it even harder to protect your personal information. Just today eBay sponsored Get Safe Online changed their advice for securing wireless networks. No longer is switching off SSID broadcast and enabling MAC address filtering considered best practise. Simply using WPA and changing the adminstrator password is the new advice given.

With thousands up and down the country not even likely to be aware of basics, such as that their wireless network configuration is now considered unsafe, it’s not surprising so many are vicitims of crime. If a tech savvy shadow home secretary is scammed what chance the man in the street?

Written by Chris Dawson · Filed Under News | 12 Comments