Credit card fraud on the rise, according to Experian

Identity fraud, with thieves taking credit card numbers from victims, is on the increase, financial information provider Experian said today.

Recent research from the company shows a 69 per cent year on year rise in identity fraud between 2004 and 2006.

Experian spokesperson Peter Brooker said that a new generation of fraudsters was taking the theft of credit card numbers as a mere starting point.

“One of things we are seeing is that there is an awful lot of current and previous address fraud”, he said. This occurs when “the fraudsters are actually, not just taking over people’s accounts or using various methods to get hold of people’s credit card numbers, but are actually taking their entire identity”.

Research from KPMG, out today, shows that overall rates of fraud are rising dramatically, valued at a total of £594 million in 107 cases coming to court already this year.

This beats the overall totals for the years 2000-04, combined, with KPMG terming the figures a “step change” in fraud rates.

Tags: identity theft, new generation, people's accounts, spokesperson, overall rates, previous address fraud

Financial fraud on the rise

Financial fraud in the UK is growing with new statistics showing that the problem is far from going away.

CIFAS, the UK’s Fraud Prevention Service, has found that almost all types of financial fraud have increased in the country between 2006 and 2007.

Research by the organisation focuses on results from the first quarter of 2006 and the same period this year and it does not make for good reading.

According to CIFAS, application fraud, which sees people lying in order to obtain credit cards, loans, bank accounts or insurance, has increased by 21 per cent in the last 12 months.

Identity fraud is also on the rise, with cases increasing by 12 per cent and current address and previous address fraud are also growing.

“These quarterly figures show a worrying escalation in many types of financial fraud,” commented Peter Hurst, chief executive of CIFAS.

“The scale of fraudulent activity is alarming. It emphasises the need for businesses constantly to be alert when dealing with applications.”

Despite large growth in many areas, CIFAS says that it has been experiencing positive results in its bid to prevent fraud.

According to figures released by the organisation, fraud prevention activity saved organisations £94,000 per hour, compared to £74,000 per hour for the same period in 2006.

Tags: identity, previous address fraud, fraud prevention, application fraud, reading, Deception, need, current address