Tesco Bank cancel some customer credit cards amid fraud fears

Tesco Bank has cancelled a number of credit cards out of the blue over fears that accounts have been compromised by a third party.

The supermarket bank hasn’t revealed the exact percentage of its three million credit card customers that are affected, but claims it is a ‘tiny number’.

Those have had their cards cancelled will have to wait up to a week before a replacement card is issued after being told via text they cannot use their current one.

A Tesco spokesman said precautionary action was being taken as a result of a suspected ‘third party compromise’, not as a result of a fraud attack.

He added: ‘We take the security of our customers’ accounts very seriously and take every measure possible to protect customers from fraudulent activity.

‘As a result of routine industry-wide fraud protection measures, we have reissued a number of credit cards as a precautionary measure.’

Two years ago, the bank suffered a large scale cyber-attack on some of its current accounts, with approximately 20,000 people having to be refunded.

Tesco has a number of credit cards on offer, including a 0 per cent balance deal over 22 months and 0 per cent on purchases for 28 months.

Some of the cards offer Clubcard points as a reward for spending.

Hannah Maundrell, editor-in-chief of comparison website Money, said: ‘This is undoubtedly frustrating for Tesco credit card customers, but ultimately a good move to protect users from fraud. 

‘Unfortunately credit card fraud is on the rise, and everyone needs to be extra vigilant to make sure their money stays safe.’