Fraud is being driven away from customers’ cards and bank accounts thanks to banking industry initiatives, according to figures from the UK Payments Council.

Data released by the Council shows that total fraud losses on UK cards fell to £186.8million between January and June 2010 – a 20 per cent fall compared with losses in the first half of 2009. These figures represent the lowest half-year total for ten years.

The fall, the Payments Council said, is thanks to the success of initiatives such as the increasing roll-out of updated chip cards in the UK; ongoing work with the retail community to raise awareness of how retailers can protect their chip and PIN equipment from criminal attack; greater sign-up to MasterCard SecureCode and Verified by Visa cardholders and retailers; an increased use of fraud detection tools by banks and retailers; and the increasing roll-out of chip and PIN abroad.

Online, fraud losses totalled £24.9million in January to June 2010 – a 36 per cent fall on the 2009 half-year results. Increased customer awareness of protecting computers with anti-virus software, and banks’ use of sophisticated fraud detection software are cited as the main factors in this drop.

Phone banking recorded losses of £5.8million, representing an increase of nine per cent on 2009’s figures over January to June. These losses were largely attributed to customers being tricked into disclosing security details, through cold calling or fake emails. The Payments Council said the industry must continue to highlight the fact that a bank would not cold call or email customers and ask them for login details and passwords.

Cheque fraud losses decreased from £15.6million to £13.5million in 2010 – and the overwhelming majority of attempted cheque fraud gets stopped before the cheque is paid, according to the Council.

“These figures are testament to the importance that the UK’s card companies place on driving down card fraud losses and reducing any inconvenience to customers,” explained Melanie Johnson, chair of the UK Cards Association. “We are determined to make sure that customers feel as safe and secure as possible when they use their cards. To that end the banking industry is committed to detecting and preventing card fraud in all its guises.”

David Cooper, chairman of the Fraud Control Steering Group, the payment industry’s leading fraud prevention group, added that the non-plastic related fraud losses can be controlled through collaboration. “The fight against fraud can only be effective with a joined-up approach, so we continue to collaborate with businesses, consumers, the police and the government whenever and wherever possible. Just last week our work with the Police Central e-Crime Unit paid off, with a number of criminals – who infected customers’ computers with a virus to steal from their accounts – being arrested.”

The National Fraud Authority (NFA) figures on fraud show that out of fraud in all its guises, which costs the UK more than £30bn a year, card and banking fraud accounts for less than two per cent of this figure.

Share Story: