New figures released by the UK Cards Association reveal that credit card fraud is up by 9 % in the first six months of 2012 compared to the same period in 2011. The total losses to UK customers in 2012 are reportedly £185 million.
Other types of fraud are also on the increase, the UK Cards Association has noted. Online banking fraud has seen a rise in 2012 of 28% which has resulted in total losses to the UK market of £21.6 million. Card Identity theft has also seen an increase of 27 % within the UK.
Detective Chief Inspector Carter of the Dedicated Cheque and Plastic Crime Unit says that the increase is due to organised gangs committing straight forward frauds. This includes distracting people whilst they are at cash machines or whilst paying for items in order to steal their card or telephoning people pretending to be from their bank and asking people to confirm their PIN numbers.
By Victoria Tague
Comments