Geraint Davies MP wants to end the use of anonymous pre-paid credit cards on the grounds that they can be used to purchase child pornography. The problem with his suggestion is that it doesn’t take into account all the manifold legitimate uses of pre-paid credit cards. In fact, they might well be much more of a force for good, allowing vulnerable people, especially children, to protect their identity on the Internet.
Identity theft has been estimated to cost the UK economy £1.2 billion a year. Credit card theft and fraud is a key way that criminals can get at personal data and siphon off funds from law abiding citizens. Pre-paid credit cards currently allow consumers to purchase a specific amount of credit to spend in shops or online. The card does not need to be associated with any real name or address, or bank account or credit line. It is essentially the digital equivalent of carrying around a purse with cash in it. If the card or its details are stolen, then only the money that has been added to the card is at risk. It limits how much money a consumer might lose to theft, protecting their credit rating and savings with their banks, as well as their personal details.
This makes it ideal for children (and other vulnerable people) who are transacting online. They don’t need to give out their name or their address to strangers or foreign companies over the Internet, and parents have the peace of mind that the amount of money they can spend is absolutely limited. There is no chance of them running up debts. In addition, many people have good reason to maintain personal anonymity. For example, victims of honour violence (such as coerced marriage) frequently flee their families and move to other parts of the country to escape. Unfortunately, they are often all too easily tracked down through the abuse of personal data (sometimes via National Insurance numbers, telephone bills, or credit card details). Pre-paid credit cards could be a useful tool for people trying to start a new life with a low digital profile.
So rather than banning the use of anonymous pre-paid credit cards, it might be better for the public to get smarter about ID theft and privacy, and make greater use of these successful counter-measures to crime. Anonymity should not be assumed to be a sign of bad intentions. Of course, anonymity can be used for evil as well as good, but there are alternative ways of tackling illegal services over the Internet that don’t involve making ordinary consumers (including children) more vulnerable. Moreover, credit card companies have proven eager to assist police authorities in finding and shutting down child abuse networks. Let’s hope the coalition government does not take up this bad idea of banning pre-paid credit cards.
