Card Fraud Hits 13 Million Britons

Life assistance company CPP released its annual ‘Card Fraud Index’ report this January, revealing that around 13 million Britons have now been the victims of card fraud. The trend for a reduction in fraud continues, however: 2010 saw an encouraging 3% fall in card fraud, with 7% of the UK population affected compared with 10% in 2009.  A spokesperson for CPP says that this is probably thanks to industry initiatives such as Verified by Visa and MasterCard SecureCode, which have improved card security, especially for online transactions.

Nevertheless this type of fraud remains a serious problem, costing banks, card issuers and consumers millions of pounds annually: a whopping loss of around £440 million on UK cards was reported by the UK Card Association in 2009. According the Card Fraud Index, most (20%) of victims said their cards had the magnetic stripe cloned by illegally adapted ATMs or by a Chip & PIN machine.  Once fraudsters have got hold of this information they can use it to create counterfeit cards and make online purchases.

The report named and shamed the worst cities in the UK for card fraud, with Brighton coming out on top (38 per cent), closely followed by London (34 per cent), Manchester (33 per cent), Bristol and Leeds at joint fourth place (32 per cent) and Edinburgh (31 per cent) (2).   The average amount stolen was £417, but 4% of victims reported losses of more than £2,000.

The card industry continues to implement new measures to tighten security and reduce fraud, but it looks like many consumers are still blissfully unaware of the risks they are running by their complacent habits.  18 % don’t check ATMs for signs of fraudulent tampering, 17% don’t shield their PIN, and 16% allow their cards to be taken out of sight when paying in shops and restaurants.  Fraudsters usually get plenty of time to make full use of stolen or cloned cards, as it takes an average of at least 8 hours for customers to report their card as lost or stolen.

The CPP report encourages consumers to take their share of responsibility by being aware of the potential dangers, and remaining vigilant when using their plastic cards.  Preventative measures such as Card Protection policies help reduce fraud losses by immediately cancelling lost and stolen cards. CPP is an insurance company specialising in Card Protection, Identity Protection and mobile phone insurance.