Credit card fraud falls

Credit card fraud losses have fallen by 23% this year as industry and Police initiatives have targeted this crime.

Losses due to credit card fraud have fallen to £233m in the first six months of the year according to Financial Fraud Action UK.

Credit card fraud now represents only 0.1% of total credit card transactions however the industry has to be constantly vigilent as fraudsters seek new way to target credit card users.

As Katy Worobec, Head of Fraud Control, says:

“These latest fraud figures are good news but we know there’s no room for complacency. Whilst industry online security initiatives such as Verified by Visa and MasterCard SecureCode may be making their presence felt, the fraudsters are never going to shut up shop and, of course, there are emerging areas such as online banking fraud which has risen again.”

As initiatives such as chip and pin have made card fraud more difficult, there is evidence that fraudsters are starting to target foreign currency cards, as explained by Ms Worobec:

“Although it’s difficult to prove, we think that one of the reasons for this dip in card losses may simply be as a result of fraudsters realising that they can prosper more by targeting foreign-issued cards – particularly those without chip and PIN protection and which currently have stronger currencies than sterling.”

“The fact that we’ve seen a 36 per cent increase in the first half of this year in the amount of fraud being committed on foreign issued cards here in the UK adds some weight to this theory.”

Whilst it is reassuring for consumers that the industry is suceeding in reducing card fraud, credit card users should remain vigilent and ensure that their card details are not passed to fraudsters, particularly with Internet based transactions.