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Teenagers making 'illicit purchases' online

Parents have been advised to supervise their teenage children or they risk having their online security compromised or worse - exposed to ID theft and online fraud.

The call comes in the wake of research from CPP, which shows that one in ten boys make "illicit purchases" of games and gadgets online using their parents' credit cards.

According to the organisation's fraud expert Michael Lynch, of the eight to 16-year-olds committing family fraud, 15-year-old boys fared the worst "with one in ten making an illicit purchase every month".

"Parents need to talk to their children about this and make sure they are aware of the temptations in front of them and why they shouldn't do it," he says.

"They should make sure [teenagers] are not using their usernames and passwords and are not using saved credit card details."

According to APACS, the UK payments association, 2007 saw total card fraud losses increase by 25 per cent to £535 million.

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