Card Not Present Fraud increases by 37%

The UK Payments Association; APACS have announced their latest figures on card fraud, and they make uneasy reading for services and retailers accepting CNP payments.

The figures state a 25%  overall increase of card fraud losses, despite the recent introduction of chip and pin technology. The fact that fraud abroad has increased to £90.5 million may explain this however; as it appears that there is an increase in stolen cards being used abroad, in countries which have not yet upgraded to chip and pin technology. Fraud abroad now counts for almost one third of total card losses showing that fraud really is an international problem.

For internet, phone and mail order retails there is more bad news; Card not present fraud has increased by 37% overall, putting the cost of CNP fraud in 2007 to £290.5 million. There is however some good news, that mail non-receipt fraud or ‘friendly fraud’ as it is commonly known is at an all time low with a year on year decrease of 34%.

Good news also for the online banking community: banking fraud losses have dropped by 33% perhaps reflecting better security measures and consumer education campaigns within the sector.

With an increase in CNP fraud, the industry needs to enhance their fraud prevention measures; identity verification is an effective way to prevent CNP fraud, and the recent announcement of the formation of a Payments Industry and Police Joint Intelligence Unit (PIPJIU) will bring optimism to CNP retailers.

You can read the entire APACS release here.