Stay safe from card fraud in Sheffield with free 'defender sleeve'

Sergeant Matthew Burdett of Sheffield Business Improvement District and Lucy King, store manager at Marks and Spencer, with the credit card defender sleeves.

Sheffield shoppers can protect themselves from fraud thanks to new card defender sleeves.

The state-of-the-art wallets use radio blocking technology to protect credit and debit card details being read by mobile devices.

Sheffield Business Improvement District, or Bid, has handed out 10,000 of the sleeves to various city centre firms to hand out to their customers.

Companies signed up include Marks and Spencer, Wilko, Theatre Delicatessen and Cubana Tapas Bar.

Bid manager Diane Jarvis said: “While there is no indication of a problem with this type of crime in Sheffield, the free credit card defenders are a great opportunity to highlight the importance of fraud prevention, the protection already available and the simple steps people can take to protect themselves.”

Other advice to stay safe from fraud includes carefully monitoring bank statements and immediately reporting any unknown transactions to your bank.

For more information about contactless cards and safety visit www.getsafeonline.org/shopping-banking/contactless-payments/