Debit and Credit Card Fraud Down Dramatically
The good news is that debit and credit card fraud fell by over 25% in 2009 to just over £440 million, down £170 million.
And this is the first decrease since 2006.
The figures come from The UK Cards Association, which represents UK credit card and debit card providers, and they also revealed that the skimming and cloning of cards also fell by a huge 50%. And cheque fraud took a similar dive downwards, dropping nearly 30% from just over £41 million to a touch under £30 million.
The bad news in an otherwise good result is that online banking losses, those committed online, rose by 14% to nearly £60 million.
Online fraud is growing because of people’s vulnerability at their end of the operation (personal computers are still prone to malware attacks), whereas the financial institutions themselves are far more difficult to penetrate due to their sophisticated system protections. Also, individuals are still prone phishing attacks and these tactics (bogus emails promising money, or spurious deals) are on the increase, up 16% to 51,000 recorded incidents.
Melanie Johnson, Chair of The UK Cards Association, said:
“The cards industry sees fighting fraud as a key part of keeping its customers’ interests centre-stage. We are committed to a wide range of measures to ensure customers feel confident, safe and secure when they use their credit and debit cards – whether in a shop, abroad, online, at a cash machine or anywhere else.
“And a fall in card fraud is good news for everyone – UK consumers, retailers and the industry. We recognise that cards will always be targeted by criminals, so we are determined not only to continue to prevent, detect and deter those who are behind this type of crime, but also to make sure that innocent victims don’t lose out.”
The Fraud Control Steering Group, which is the payment industry’s leading fraud prevention group, chipped in with its own comment. David Cooper, Chairman, said:
“Although online banking fraud losses have shown a year-on-year increase, card fraud remains a main focus of criminal activity. However, the industry remains committed to containing and reducing all areas of fraud. To this end, we will continue our partnership approach – working with law enforcement, retailers, consumers and the Home Office – to tackle fraud head-on.”
The levels of fraud are coming down for a number of reasons says The UK Cards Association, including such initiatives as chip and PIN; growth in the use of MasterCard’s SecureCode and Verified by Visa (adds an extra layer of security when online shopping); progress made by the Dedicated Cheque and Plastic Crime Unit (DCPCU), which is the industry-sponsored special police unit; and, the use of more sophisticated anti-fraud techniques by financial institutions and retailers alike.
And for those who were wondering how much such financial fraud accounts in the overall estimate of nefarious activities, then it’s a sobering thought that its only around 2%.
The aptly named National Fraud Authority recently announced that if you combined all the various fraud perpetrated in the UK in a year, it comes to a eye-watering £30 billion.
Guest Article by Neil Camp
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My name is Alan Potts and I'm the Editor of the BUYability web site and Managing Director of BUYability Limited. You can connect with me or keep up to date with new posts on this blog via the following social media sites: 
