Chip and pin cuts £58.4m from card fraud
The introduction of chip and pin has seen card fraud fall by 24 per cent, new data reveals.
Figures released today show that in 2005, the first full year of chip and pin, card fraud fell from £504.8 million to £439.4 million - with counterfeit, lost, and stolen card fraud down by £58.4 million.
However, card-not-present fraud (internet, phone and mail order card fraud), where pin numbers are not needed to make purchases items, rose by £32.4 million or 21 per cent, UK payments association Apacs said today.
But even this rise in fraud could be taken in a positive light. It was the second smallest annual rise in card not present fraud since 1998, as increased use of internet banking and internet shopping has been exploited by criminals. Between 1998 and 2002 this style of card fraud rose by an average of 78 per cent a year, with this year's figures also down three per cent on 2004's rise.
"Seeing card fraud losses come down is cast-iron proof that chip and pin is doing its job. Back in 2002 we forecast that fraud would have risen to £800 million in 2005 if we didn't make the move to chip and pin so it's heartening to see total losses well beneath this figure," said Sandra Quinn, of Apacs.
"Of course, whilst our cards are safer than ever before, the fraudsters clearly aren't going to give up so neither will we. Now chip and pin is in place the banking industry is discussing how to leverage chip and pin to better protect card-not-present transactions and we hope this will lead to progress later this year about what this means for cardholders and retailers."
To find a cheap UK credit card, go to www.myfinances.co.uk/credit-cards.htm
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