Card fraud increased in Europe in 2012

Instances of card fraud within the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) increased in 2012 for the first time since 2008, driven mainly by higher internet fraud, a report said.

The report, compiled by the Eurosystem (the European Central Bank and the 18 national central banks of the euro area), was published Tuesday. It looks at fraud using different kinds of cards (debit and credit) and according to the type of usage, reported Xinhua.

The report said that in 2012, some 60 percent of the value of fraud resulted from card-not-present (CNP) payments, i.e. payments via post, telephone or the internet, while roughly one-quarter resulted from point-of-sale (POS) terminals and about one-sixth from automated teller machines (ATMs).

In 2012, 1 euro in every 2,635 euros spent on credit and debit cards issued within SEPA, including the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway and Switzerland, was lost to fraud.

That represents 0.038 percent of a total of 3.5 trillion euros in transactions, up from 0.036 percent in 2011. The total value of fraud increased by 14.8 percent in 2012 compared with 2011, reaching 1.33 billion euros.

Compared with 2008, the overall amount of fraud decreased by 9.3 percent, while the value of transactions increased by 17 percent.

"These data show we must remain vigilant against card fraud, although it is also reassuring to see that counterfeit levels are lower inside SEPA than outside, thanks to higher security standards," said Vitor Constancio, vice president of the ECB.