Cash machine fraud danger

CASH machine users who discard mini-statements in the bins provided next to the 'hole in the wall' are in danger of becoming victims of identity fraud.

Independent watchdog the Fraud Advisory Panel said some of the mini-statements and receipts contained enough information to enable someone else to use them to buy goods over the phone or via the internet.

There are no figures on how big the problem of fraud originating from discarded ATM statements is, but it is thought to be a growing problem.

During 2002 the total number of identity fraud cases in the UK rose by 55% to 42,000, costing victims an estimated £62m a year, according to the Credit Industry Fraud Avoidance System.

Solicitor Steven Philippsohn, head of the Fraud Advisory Panel, urges people to take care when disposing of a statements from a cash machine. 'Treat it as if it is a financial document. Treat it as if it is money. Don't throw it away,' he said.