Programmer Pilfers £73,000 In Nectar Point Theft

An IT programmer working for the supermarket chain Sainsbury’s is facing a jail sentence after he stole loyalty scheme points from Nectar.

Father of two, James Stevenson, is a lead analyst programmer from Muswell Hill, London. According to This is Money website and the Tottenham Journal, whilst he was working at Sainsbury’s, the father of two created a number of false accounts into which he credited 14 million Nectar points, worth £73,207 if they were cashed in.

In reality, 45-year-old Stevenson would have had to spend approximately £7 million in order to earn the £73,000 figure legitimately. Sainsbury’s, for example, normally awards two points for every pound spent in its stores, with 500 points worth £2.50.

Jail Sentence

It is not clear at this stage how Stevenson was caught, but it seems the crime took place seven years ago. Stevenson pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to theft of Nectar points between 17 November 2002 and 24 May 2003.

Stevenson also admitted fraud by false representation for redeeming £8,120 of the points for grocery shopping, on 9 October 2007.

He has been informed by the judge that he will probably be jailed when he is sentenced next month on 14 January 2011, however he will be allowed to spend Christmas with his family.

“I am going to adjourn your case for sentence. You will remain on bail unconditionally but that is no promise as to what is likely to happen,” said Judge Peter Thornton QC. “‘The most likely outcome is a custodial sentence but a pre-sentence report will be prepared upon you by the probation service. I keep all options open.”

The Nectar scheme began back in 2002 and points can be legitimately earned at Homebase, BP and British Gas. Or you could follow Stevenson’s route and earn the chance of an extended stay inside, courtesy of Her Majesty the Queen.

Christmas Safety

The points can be redeemed at a number of UK institutions including cinemas, Argos, Eurostar, Amazon and Alton Towers.

The run up to Christmas usually leads to a surge in online crime. Last month for example the US government closed 82 websites that it deemed were selling counterfeit goods.

However there are steps that users can take to protect themselves online this Christmas, including making sure their security software is fully up to date, and shopping on reputable and secure websites that display a padlock symbol in the browser.

Users can also take other steps, such as ensuring that their Wi-Fi networks are properly protected. Back in October for example, a study from life assistance company CPP found that almost half of home Wi-Fi networks in the UK can be hacked in less than five seconds, even if they are password-protected.