Level of plastic card fraud rises

February 10th, 2008 • Related • Filed Under

According to recent figures the level of plastic card fraud in the UK has rocketed in the first half of this year. The figures indicate that plastic card fraud against UK consumers has gone up by a whopping 26% in the first half of the year, and much of this rise has been contributed to card fraud that has been committed against Brits whilst they are abroad. This card fraud includes fraud that has been committed using both credit and debit cards.

The rise of over a quarter in plastic card fraud in the first half of this year has taken the monetary level of this type of fraud up to £263.6 million. Although the overall rise in card fraud was 25% the actual rise in card fraud abroad came in at an alarming 126%, and this equated to card fraud totalling over £110 million in monetary terms. This, state experts, is what has contributed to the overall level of card fraud rocketing in the first half of this year.

One industry professional from the card payment clearing agency APACS stated: “These figures show how the fraudsters have changed tack. A couple of years ago they were mainly stealing cards and card details for use in UK shops and cash machines. But today, because of chip and PIN, they have been driven overseas — using fake magnetic stripe cards specifically in countries which have yet to upgrade to chip and PIN.”


Post a Response