£100 extra on an RBS card

NatWest customers with a credit card will be able to use it to get out an extra £100 cash with no fees or charges.

They've just sent this out to customers...

"We know that our current technical issues may still be impacting a number of our customers as we work to clear the backlog.

To make it easier for our customers experiencing difficulties accessing cash we have made the following arrangements. All our current account customers who have an RBS, NatWest or Mint credit card in good order can now:
 

*	Withdraw up to an additional £100 over their limit on their credit card, with over-limit fees or charges automatically waived or refunded
*	For Cash withdrawals on their card, cash advance fees as well as one month's worth of interest on the transaction will be waived or refunded

For all current account customers we will:

*	Automatically waive or refund overdraft fees and charges on current accounts for customers who have been impacted

We are making these commitments today and there is no requirement for any customer to take further action to benefit from these changes."

Alarming rise in identity fraud

The last three months have seen a 40% increase compared to a year ago in identity frauds, where fraudsters use a victim's name, address or other information to steal money or attempt to steal it.

There were nearly 34,000 cases, affecting banks and their customers, but also phone companies and home shopping, according to the industry fraud body, CIFAS - which described the figures as alarming.

The numbers of cases where fraudsters took over people's accounts to try to take money increased by over 80% from the same quarter a year ago to 10,500 - and they were 16% higher than the previous three months.

Most of the damage is being done online, the result of spam emails, computer infections or carelessness, allowing scam merchants to gain access to personal details.

And there are instances of mail being intercepted and criminals sifting through the contents of rubbish bins to look for useful information.

In the majority of cases banks or other businesses will bear the initial loss from fraud, though the cost can feed through to higher prices.