A third of cardholders hit by fraudsters

According to recent figures one third of cardholders have been hit by card fraud in the past five years. The figures show that around fifteen million Brits have fallen victim to card fraud over the past five years, which reflects a sharp increase on the figure eighteen months ago, where the number of cardholders hit by card fraud stood at 27 percent.

According to ACI Worldwide a greater number of Brits have been defrauded on their cards than in any other major country apart from China. However, despite this there was a greater level of consumer satisfaction amongst British consumers with regards to how banks dealt with their claims than there was in other countries.

Around 80 percent of customers said that they were satisfied with how their fraud case had been dealt with by their bank, and this compared to 75 percent in 2009. Around 40 percent of these said that the main reason for this high level of satisfaction was the speed at which they received their money back after falling victim to card fraud.

It is estimated that card fraud in the UK costs the economy around £30 billion a year, and with fraudsters using a range of sophisticated methods and hunting grounds to commit their crimes this is a figure that could easily increase.

David Divitt, from ACI Worldwide, said: ‘Fraud is constantly changing and, looking forward, the industry will need to increase focus on identifying identity theft and assisting victims to maintain this improvement in customer experience.’

However, the UK Cards Association has stated: ‘The most recent card fraud figures for the UK, which are based on actual losses and not on research, show that card fraud is falling – a 28% fall in 2009 and a further 20% fall in the first half of last year.’

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