Online banking fraud, or phishing, involves bogus emails and fake websites to lure people into revealing their bank account details. Incidents of this nature increased by 1,471%, from 312 in the first six months of 2005 to 5,059 this year.
Fraud using counterfeit cards rose by 16% to GBP53 million, with criminals copying the details of cardholders’ magnetic strips to create fake cards, and using them abroad or in shops that have not upgraded to the chip-and-pin system.
However, credit and debit crime has fallen again, due to the continued effect of chip-and-pin cards, which were introduced in 2004.
Fraud involving lost or stolen cards fell by 19 % from GBP44.3 million in the first six months of 2005 to GBP 36.1 million this year, while card ID theft fell 7% from GBP16.1 million to GBP15 million.
Sandra Quinn, director of corporate communications at Apacs, commented These latest fraud figures show that the industry’s efforts are making their mark. However, each and every one of us can also help defeat the fraudsters and protect our cards and online accounts, by keeping our pins, passwords and personal information safe and secure.
