A study conducted by Apacs, the industry body for card issuers, has found that the fraud committed on UK credit and debit cards on foreign soil has fallen to a five-year low.
The figures show that the fraud amount for the year 2004 was a total of £92.5m, down from £138.4m in 2001 and the lowest figure since 1999. The study found that this fall was due to better fraud-detection systems, which have the ability to detect unusual spending patterns.
Apacs stated that almost half of this fraud took place in the United States, France and Spain. The US accounting for £16.m of the fraud, that is 18 percent of the overseas total, while France had a total of £15.8m, 17 percent of the total. Spain with £12.3m made up 13 percent of the total.
The fall in the fraud can also be attributed to the Dedicated Cheque and Plastic Crime Unit (DCPCU) - a specialist police team sponsored by the banking industry. This team has managed to crack several international card-counterfeiting rings, thereby effectively checking card misuse. The DCPCU was set up in April 2002. It has already outlived its initial lifespan of two years since it has been very successful.
Apacs has also said that while the fact that overseas fraud is on the decline is a heartening trend, it does not mean that cardholders should be complacent, Sandra Quinn, communication director at Apacs, said, "Cardholders should remember to follow a few simple rules to make sure they're protected while they're abroad. Simple things like making sure your cards never leave your sight and remembering to dispose of receipts carefully can make all the difference. When you travel abroad, particularly in Europe, there is a growing chance that you will come across chip and Pin, the same system we have in the UK. This is good news for UK cardholders as it means that card criminals will increasingly find it harder to use stolen cards abroad."
Apacs also warned that credit card details can be stolen in the UK and then transmitted overseas, Mark Bowerman, a spokesman for Apacs, commented, "It's a situation where your card details go on holiday but you don't. People need to be careful wherever they are and whenever they pay with their card."
Posted
on : Thu, 16 Jun 2005 15:50 GMT | Credit Cards News
By : Mike Lawson
|
