Europe's card fraud value hits EUR 1.55 billion

Data presented by Buy Shares has indicated that Europe’s card fraud value has hit EUR 1.55 billion with the UK accounting for almost half at 45.36%.

Card fraud losses continue to spike as criminal groups innovate new methods to steal from consumers. As a result, consumers and businesses globally continue to account for massive losses from card fraudulent activities.

The UK’s value stands at EUR 706.9 million. From the data, Romania has the least card fraud value at EUR 2.9 million.

The research also overviewed the distribution of fraud losses on UK-issued debit and credit cards based on type. Remote purchases accounted for the largest share at 76%. On the other hand, card not received accounts for the least share at 1%.

The United Kingdom accounts for the highest fraud cases considering that it’s one of the significant card markets based on volumes and values of card transactions. The high value, of fraud, is a result of a high level of using cards for online purchases.

CNP fraud continues to gain popularity in a period most customers are turning away from using their physical cards and simply enter their details to make a purchase. One notable source of CNP fraud has been the malware and phishing attacks that have become increasingly sophisticated. In Europe, most cards come with an EMV chip which requires a PIN to be entered into the merchant’s terminal for payment authorization. However, a PIN isn’t required for online transactions, posing a perfect avenue for fraudsters.

Besides the fraud emanating from growing ecommerce, emerging and alternate payment options like contactless payment continue to drive innovation within criminal groups to enable them to abuse new technologies. However, new cardless payment methods may also result in a downwards trend in card fraud.

The role of criminal groups has also been taking center stage in rising card fraud. Such groups use a wide range of methods like the collection of data, threats, and bots. Most groups have perfected the art of social engineering and data breaches to steal personal data. The stolen data is used to commit fraud both directly and indirectly like making unauthorized purchases online. Personal details are also used to take over an account or apply for a credit card in someone else’s name.

Payment companies need to deploy multiple techniques to prevent fraud like machine learning and behaviour analytics to identify unknown behaviour on accounts. There is also the need to set up rules that target known threats and behaviours that could indicate fraudulent activity. Combining the mentioned techniques will create a hybrid monitoring solution. There is a need for cross border cooperation like the use of integrated fraud and risk prevention services. The services incorporate modern modeling techniques.