Software blocks unauthorised card use

Security software that will prevent unauthorised online use of credit and debit cards has been developed to deal with the growing problem of domestic fraud.

So Protect Me is essentially a payment blocker that needs card holder authorisation before any online transactions can take place.

There are also some parental control features built in to block access to gaming and gambling sites or prevent children using online retailers or auction sites.

The software was developed to deal with the rarely reported problem of domestic fraud. Although stories of online fraud by organised criminals grab headline news, a survey by Yougov shows one in five people have found themselves victims of domestic fraud.

Yet although five in 10 people do not trust co-habitees - be these family members of flatmates - not to use their cards without permission, they do little to protect themselves; two in 10 will reveal card details such as PINs to others and one in three leave cards where they are easy to find.

However, most victims are reluctant to talk about this crime, mainly because it is usually carried out by a relative. Reported incidences of family members running up huge bills using other family member's cards illicitly online make for grim reading.

In May 2006 it was reported that 22-year-old Daniel Richardson took his father's cards from a briefcase while looking after his younger sisters, as their parents enjoyed a weekend in Amsterdam, and ran up £30,000 of gambling debts on his father's credit cards.

In June the same year, 25-year-old Richard Mahan pleaded guilty to using his father's credit cards fraudulently to fund a whopping £158,000 worth of debt on gambling sites.

As both were adults they faced criminal charges and were ordered to do community service. But as So Protect Me's chief executive officer Raj Curwen said, parents of younger children would be less willing to let their children be prosecuted.

"This means that most parents will then cover the debt unless it is so huge they are unable to," he said.

The new software which will be available to download from Monday 19 November priced £14.99 for a year's subscription. The company said it also plans to introduce more parental control features in future.