Another warning for online retailers this week: young couple Jocelyn Kirsch and Edward Anderson admitted to nabbing the identities of friends and neighbours in Philadelphia. The couple spent over £100,000 on luxury holidays and other expensive goods, according to reports.

But despite the millions of pounds spent by the e-commerce giants on fraud prevention tools, the downfall of this e-Bonnie and Clyde duo appears to have come in the offline world, when a cheque Kirsch submitted to pay for her hair extensions bounced. So two lessons here: fraud prevention tools are not infallible, and if you're a fraudster, don't pay by cheque.

16 Jul 2008