APACS Comments on Card Fraud on UK Cards Outside the UK
APACS issued a press release today responding to an earlier CPP release titled "Forecast is hot for fraud this Bank Holiday". APACS says that in the release "PP offers incorrect information when claiming that Spain and France are “… the top spots where Brits fall victim to card theft”. APACS says that its latest statistics "show that fraud in France on UK issued cards has decreased by £4.3million in two years, and France has dropped to fourth place for where fraud on our cards is committed. This is a direct result of the French introducing the same global chip and PIN system that we are using in the UK. Equally, fraud in Spain has fallen by £3.9 million since their rollout." In fact, based upon APACS 2007 fraud figures for UK-issued cards, the card fraud abroad is highest in USA (£24.6m) followed by Italy (£9.6m), Australia (£8.2m), France (£7.3m) and Spain (£5.7m).
The CPP release focuses on fraud that takes place abroad but the fact is that the majority of this type of fraud occurs when card details are stolen in the UK, and used fraudulently abroad. Fraudsters copy the magnetic stripe details, typically by skimming cards, then create fake magnetic stripe cards that they use overseas in countries that do not have chip and PIN. Therefore it is vital that cardholders are always careful with their cards - treating them as safely as they would their cash, whether they are abroad or at home. However, as the rest of the world upgrades to chip and PIN, it will become increasingly difficult for fraudsters to use fake cards overseas.
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