Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) has said that online credit and debit card fraud rose by 21% in the first half of 2020.
BPFI today published the latest debit and credit card fraud losses for the first half of 2020 which amounted to €12.2 million and more than 143,000 fraudulent debit and credit card transactions.
The figures come as consumers are being urged to be extra cautious during the upcoming Easter period and in light of this week’s announcement that many of the current COVID restrictions are set to continue in the weeks ahead.
Speaking about the latest data and the importance of taking extra precautions as consumers continue to shop online more than ever before Brian Hayes, chief executive BPFI said, “These latest figures were recorded in the first six months of 2020, a period which saw the beginning of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions which dramatically transformed our shopping behaviour."
"Reflecting these restrictions and lifestyle changes, we saw a 21% rise in ‘card not present’ fraud transactions. This fraud usually takes place online when the fraudster uses the details of a debit or credit card they have stolen but the physical card itself does not need to be present during the transaction," he added.
Obtaining Information
Looking at how fraudsters are obtaining customer's card information BPFI said it can see that 72% of all fraudulent transactions involved the theft of card details.
Fraudsters do this mainly by using fake text messages, email scams or fake websites to get a hold of a consumer’s card details and go on to use those details to make fraudulent payments mostly online, it added.
"This is a very worrying trend that we are seeing, and we cannot stress enough the need for customers to be on high alert particularly as we approach the popular Easter shopping period and Bank Holiday weekend ahead,” warned Hayes.
“Despite the fact that the theft of card details led to a large majority of fraudulent transactions, lost or stolen cards still accounted for about 21% of card fraud. This underlines the ongoing need for consumers to be vigilant when using their card in-store and our key advice in that regard is to always treat your card as you would your cash and keep it safe at all times,” he added.
© 2021 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Donna Ahern. Click sign up to subscribe to Checkout.
