I’ve written extensively about credit card fraud and as a result, I’m bordering on the paranoid: I won’t shop on sites that aren’t secure, I never let my credit card out of my sight, and so on. However, that hasn’t stopped me from becoming a victim of card fraud: I discovered this morning that my joint credit card has been defrauded to the tune of £1,000-plus. What’s really galling is that one of the purchases seems to have been a computer from Time. Time? I ask you!

I’m not greatly worried – the bank’s fraud squad is on the case – but I am intrigued, especially as a quick look at Time’s web site suggests that you can’t order without knowing the security code on the back of the card. Given that there’s only one transaction where I told someone the CVS code, which was when I purchased car insurance over the phone, it looks awfully like a case of fraud by an employee of the firm. Naturally I can’t prove it, and the bank isn’t exactly forthcoming with information, but it seems the most likely explanation.

The moral? Check your statements carefully. Until yesterday, I was the only person my wife knew who hadn’t been a victim of card fraud. Now I’ve joined the club.