Credit card fraud has moved online as Chip and Pin technology have made other forms of fraud more difficult. Online card crime has more than doubled in Scotland, while in the whole of the UK it has increased only by 29 per cent.
The six-monthly survey from Association for Payment Clearing Services (Apacs) found that card-not-present fraud, which covers mail order and telephone in addition to internet, has jumped by nearly a third compared to the same period last year.
As Detective Chief Inspector Derek Robertson, Strathclyde Police's fraud squad, says: "Chip and pin cards have helped to reduce fraud dramatically, however the fraudster has now migrated to the card-not-present fraud."
Apacs has warned people to be more careful while keeping account details safe. They have cautioned people that majority of online fraudsters obtain card details through other channels and then shop by using them online.
Its research found that one in four online shoppers did not check if sites were secure or not. Almost half of women and half of people in 16-24 year age group were not aware of 'phishing'. Apacs is to launch a marketing campaign, which will educate users, on methods of protecting their cards online.
"The figures are showing that fraud on the internet, fraud on telephone and mail order transactions has gone up form £2.2m to £3.6m in the first six months of the year in Scotland, so there's obviously quite a few people that need to make sure they are taking these precautions, " said Apacs spokesman Mark Bowerman.
On the whole, credit card fraud in the UK was estimated to be around £219.4 million in the six month period between January to June. This is down from £252.6 million over the same period in 2004. Fake card fraud was down by 31%, while fraud on lost or stolen cards, losses through card lost in the mails and identity theft on payment cards were down by 27%, 37% and 16% respectively. Only card-not-present crimes were on the rise.
Apacs commissioned Tickbox to carry out the research, where 2,104 online shoppers were interviewed.
Posted
on : Tue, 08 Nov 2005 16:05 GMT | Credit Cards News
By : Mike Lawson
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