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10 September 2007
According to a recent report the level of online credit card fraud in London is higher than anywhere else in the nation, although Manchester and Kilmarnock are not far behind.
The information comes after a recent study was carried out to try and identify hotspots in the UK when it comes to credit card fraud, and as many people may have expected England's sprawling capital city came out on top in terms of high levels of credit card fraud online.
In the past year Greater London saw huge levels of CNP fraud (Card Not Present fraud), which means online credit card fraud where the actual card does not have to be present in order to make a transaction. The study was carried out by Early Warning, which helps retailers, authorities and credit card companies to monitor levels of credit card fraud and identify credit card fraud hotspots.
According to officials from the company the only effective ways of monitoring where the credit card fraud is taking place is by using tracking systems that can identify delivery addresses, dead letterboxes, and accommodation addresses where the goods are delivered.
Other areas of the UK have also been identified as potential hotspots for the future, where an increase in the level of CNP fraud has been seen. These include areas such as Northampton, Portsmouth, and Bournemouth.
The lowest levels of online credit card fraud have been found to be in Wales, with the exception of Cardiff, the North of Scotland, and the West Country. However, officials from Early Warning stated that rising CNP fraud is affecting the whole of the UK. One official stated: "No single area of the UK is untouched by this problem."
Rising levels of online credit card fraud or CNP fraud cost the UK over £183 million last year according to officials from APACS, which refelcted a rise of nearly forty percent compared to 2005.
The rise in online credit card fraud has resulted from increased difficulties in carrying out fraud in shops due to the instruction of Chip and Pin.
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