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Point-of-sale card fraud at UK retailers fell by 47 percent in 2006 relative to 2005, due to the introduction of chip-and-PIN cards, says UK payments association APACS. Last year, face-to-face card fraud in the UK amounted to £72.1 million (US$139.15 million).
However, APACS warns that criminals have now turned their attention to creating counterfeit magnetic-stripe cards that can be used in countries that have not yet upgraded to chip-and-PIN.
As a result, fraud losses due to counterfeit cards rose by three percent to £99.6 million in 2006 compared to 2005, according to APACS. The counterfeit card fraud figure includes both UK and foreign transactions.
Card-not-present fraud, committed over the Internet or the telephone, rose by 26 percent to £212.6 million in 2006. This fraud category now accounts for just under 50 percent of all card fraud losses, APACS says. In 2006, total fraud committed on UK cards amounted to £428 million.
A number of measures are currently in place to tackle card-not-present and online fraud, such as an automated cardholder address verification and card security code system, according to APACS.
As an additional measure, APACS is urging online shoppers to register for Verified by Visa and MasterCard SecureCode. To use these fraud prevention systems, cardholders need to register a private password with their card company. The password is used solely for shopping online at participating retailers.
