Efforts to prevent credit card fraud were paying off, said a new report from Datamonitor.
It said losses due to credit card fraud in the UK fell by more than 5% in 2003 from £424.6m to £402.4m.
However, the fall was entirely due to a reduction in the amount of fraud committed abroad on UK cards whereas domestic fraud was still rising, albeit at a slower rate, the company said.
“Despite this encouraging result, the UK is still the biggest contributor to total fraud losses in Europe. The UK is accountable for more than 70% of fraud losses in Europe,” said the report.
The introduction of chip and PIN cards would help reduce credit card fraud further, said the report, but Datamonitor warned that the UK could see a rise in identity fraud, as fraudsters looked for new opportunities.
Fraud losses to identity theft rose by over 44% to reach £29.7m in 2003, said Datamonitor. It said the lack of an identify card system in the UK was partly blamed for the increase.
