Would you credit it: credit card fraud is still rampant

The dawn of the digital era has made everyone’s lives a whole lot easier. No longer do consumers have to wait in line at the bank on their lunch hour, brave the High Street crowds on a Saturday afternoon or live their lives by retailers’ opening hours.



The internet has enabled round-the-clock banking, shopping, learning, entertainment...you name it. Power is now firmly in the hands of the people.



But this shift from physical to virtual has also made the lives of criminals easier too. Credit card fraud is as rampant as ever.



In 2009 alone, the fraudulent use of credit cards amounted to almost fifty million pounds. It’s fair to say that Chip and Pin has gone some way towards reducing fraud in over-the-counter transactions, but this has led to a greater shift towards what’s known as cardholder-not-present (CNP) fraud.



CNP fraud accounted for almost two-thirds of all credit card fraud in 2009. Stolen credit cards are one of the major causes of credit card fraud, and it’s difficult to combat given that neither the card nor the cyber-criminal are present at the point-of-sale. And this means a lot of financial damage can be done in just a few swift transactions – before the victim even realises their card is missing.

However, it’s not just stolen cards that are the problem. In recent times, other techniques such as card trapping, where the criminal attaches a device to an ATM which withholds the card have became more popular. Using this method, the fraudster can obtain the user’s PIN number and subsequently go on a spending spree before anyone’s any the wiser.



Whilst it certainly pays to take a great deal of care with any card payments, there’s always a chance that you’ll get caught out when you least expect it. And given that you may not know until it’s too late, card protection really begins to seem like a good idea. An advantage of taking this kind of protection out is that it will also cover you for lost or stolen cards, putting your mind at ease in either of those situations too.



So credit card fraud is still very much alive and kicking. But there are steps you can take to reduce the chances of falling victim to fraudulent activity – and with card protection, you’re well covered if things do go wrong.



The author of this article is a part of a digital blogging team who work with brands like CPP. The content contained in this article is for information purposes only and should not be used to make any financial decisions.