Row over credit card fraud

VICTIMS of credit-card fraud have been told to get in touch with their banks rather than the police in a circular issued by the Garde des Sceaux and the justice ministry.

However, the memo – which says it is because banks will reimburse lost money – has led to claims it is simply a bid to cut crime statistics as the circular acknowledges there has been a rise in such frauds.

First uncovered in Angers, the memo was published by the Ouest-France newspaper which quoted a policeman saying: “We want to stop people from lodging complaints. Behind it all is a political bid to lower statistics, which are exploding.”

Customers and bank groups have attacked the move with the Association Française des Usagers des Banques and the Groupement des Cartes Bancaires “deploring” it.

However, the memo points out that a police report is not needed for a bank customer to be reimbursed – although many banks ask for it – and that it is for the bank to lay its own complaint to police.