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Card fraud 'increases by 25 per cent'

Card fraud rose by 25 per cent to cost the economy £535 million last year, figures from Apacs have shown.

However, these losses have been counterbalanced by advances in the fight against online fraud, according to the payments association.

Apacs said that increased public awareness of targeted internet attempts by fraudsters to get people to hand over their card details had led to online banking fraud dropping by one third.

The new figures also show that almost half of fraudulent card activity affecting Britons is carried out abroad, with the biggest portion of the scams coming from the US.

Apacs director of communications Sandra Quinn also credited retailers' introduction of chip and pin in recent years with reducing card fraud.

"Although card fraud levels have now begun to go up again due to fraud abroad and card-not-present fraud losses, chip and pin has proven to be an undoubted success in reducing card fraud on the UK high street," she said.

"As more countries follow our lead and upgrade to chip and PIN, the opportunities for criminals to use our stolen magnetic stripe details overseas will decrease."

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