There was a notable spike in card fraud in Europe
last year, with the UK the worst hit, according to new data from FICO.
The tech company revealed that the UK experienced
an 18% rise in card fraud over a 12-month period, resulting in losses worth
approximately $118 million.
The UK is clearly a big target for fraudsters, as
the second worst-hit countries were both Greece and Denmark – these two nations
‘only’ experienced a 5% rise in losses.
FICO stated that the main reasons for the rapid
rise in card fraud in the UK are data breaches and online transactions.
It said that this is indicative of “the growth in
this channel, the ease of accessibility to funds and lower risk for criminals,
and the theft of personal data through cybercrime”.
Commenting on the findings, Kendrick Sands,
a senior financial industry analyst at Euromonitor International, stated:
“The further projected increase in online payments over the forecast period
suggests additional security measures will be required throughout Europe.
‘If greater security measures are not adopted to
combat ‘card not present’ fraud, the broader advance of card payments over
paper alternatives could be negatively impacted.”
On the plus side, Sweden, the Czech Republic,
Hungary, the Netherlands and Portugal, all experienced a year over year decline
in card fraud.
The latter, in particular, witnessed a sharp fall
(-72%), which reflects the wider long-term trend of dwindling fraudulent
activity in the country.
FICO said that this could be attributed to
Portugal’s efforts to “fight against card fraud”.
To reduce the risk of fraud, WeLiveSecurity advises
consumers to shred financial documents; be cautious when receiving allegedly
legitimate banking emails; and to not share credit card information.