Credit to Burnley company defending against card fraud

Credit should go to a Burnley company which has produced a new way to fight bank card fraud.
Morgan Rothwell and Damian GreenwoodMorgan Rothwell and Damian Greenwood
Morgan Rothwell and Damian Greenwood

D and M Creative, based at Business First in the town, thinks it has found a solution to a growing fraud – thieves scanning contactless cards.

The graphic design and marketing agency has helped to produce the Defender Note, which can be placed inside wallets and purses to protect the threat of bank cards being scammed.

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It is the latest success story for the company which began life in the Cliviger bedroom of co-founder Damian Greenwood in January, 2002.

Together with business partner Morgan Rothwell and independent consultant Kevin Loveman, the team say they have been inundated with interest from around the globe.

Morgan said: “More and more shops today are using contactless technology. We were chatting with some of our clients about this and the conversation turned to fraud.

“It is shocking how easy it is at the moment to read the information on bank cards. We did some research and there is even an Android app which can be downloaded to scan cards.

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“On the dark web you can buy a card reader, blank cards and a printer that allows criminals to skim cards, download the information and then produce your own bank card. These sites are closed down within minutes but it highlights the dangers out there.”

Indeed, the rise of contactless card fraud has jumped in the last year as increasing numbers of people are using it.

In 2014 there was £215,000 worth of contactless fraud in the UK. Remarkably, this had jumped to £2.5m. last year.

In addition to that, all bank cards are set to be contactless worldwide by 2020.

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Indeed, such is the global concern that D and M have attracted interest from the New Zealand Herald newspaper as well as several European banks.

Morgan added: “We have sold thousands of the Defender Note online since it was launched in April and have had interest from South Africa and all over Europe.

“If the Defender Note continues to be successful it could be immense for us.”

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