Cheese sandwich? Passport please!

Shoppers at Marks & Spencer food stores in railway stations are being asked to produce their passports as proof of identification because of rampant credit and debit card fraud.

Driving licences are also being accepted - but only if they are the new type with a photograph.

The tactic has been introduced by SSP, which runs franchise outlets of M&S called Simply Food at stations in London, Cardiff, Brighton, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

An M&S spokesman said last night that the station concourse stores appeared to have been deliberately targeted by card fraudsters.

She said cards were being stolen and used at the stores within minutes, before the owner had a chance to report them stolen.

Even if the purchase is only a sandwich, a large amount of cash can be withdrawn by using the store's cashback facility.

'The aim is to deter people who have just stolen cards from using them in our stores,' she said.

'Customers are asked for photo identification if discrepancies are noticed with the signatures.'

A notice in stores tells customers paying by a card that they may be asked to produce a photo ID.

It reads: 'Due to the high number of fraudulent credit card/debit card transactions, additional identification may be required where necessary.

'It is important to note that the additional identification required must be photographic (passport or driving licence).

'This may sometimes mean that transaction will take a little longer than normal to process.'

Only days ago, it was revealed that identity fraud involving cards soared by 45 per cent in 2003.

In addition to the M&S decision, a number of other stores and shopping centres have taken their own fraud-busting measures.

For several years, many shops have asked for thumb prints from customers who pay by cheque or credit card.

If a suspected fraud is subsequently-committed, the prints can then be compared with a national database.

This scheme has been used at shopping centres in Birmingham and Chichester, West Sussex, and at the giant Bluewater complex in Kent.

It is said to have deterred thousands of would-be card cheats.

Many retailers have resorted to their own tactics because they are unhappy that new security measures promised by banks are taking too long to roll out. A 'chip and pin' system currently on trial in Northampton is due to be extended to the rest of the UK.

The system - similar to one that is commonplace in France - means that shoppers have to type in a secret number for their card to be authorised and spells the end for signature-based checks.

Card fraud cost the UK around £400million last year, slightly down on the total for 2002. But industry watchdogs have revealed that cases of identity theft - where criminals create new identities via credit or debit cards - had risen by 45 per cent and is now worth nearly £ 30million a year.

Usually, the card details are taken from discarded receipts in people's bins, or copied down by corrupt vendors without the cardholder's knowledge.

b.taylor@dailymail.co.uk