Government introduces new system to tackle credit card fraud
Newly reported cases of credit card fraud are becoming more common amongst UK consumers, than ever before. Identity fraudsters have adopted more sophisticated ways of obtaining peoples card details, and are going to greater lengths in order to obtain them.
In response to this rising trend, the Government has introduced new procedures and guidelines, to better allow consumers to report such incidents and to allow card issuers the means to react more efficiently.
The previous system essentially put the earnest on our countries police forces. If a consumer were to notice strange activity on their card, they would be advised to contact their local police branch. The branch would then record the incident, and produce a crime reference ID for which the card issuer could then refer to. The major flaw with the system essentially stemmed from a lack of coordination between police forces and card issuers, which resulted in a less than acceptable prosecution rate.
Consumers are now encouraged to report any suspicious activity directly to their card issuers, bypassing police forces entirely. The card issuer will then contact a local police unit and will converse with one specific point of contact within the unit, whose responsibility is to solely investigate such cases.
This new, more efficient system should result in considerably higher conviction rates and/or deter potential fraudsters from committing said crimes in the first place.
There have been a number of high profile cases of credit card fraud over the last few months, and it is reported that card fraud has increased by around 350% in the last 10 years. Annually, card fraud costs issuers around £1 billion and is rising by around 15% year on year. Card issuers, credit reference agencies and the Government are constantly working in tangent, in order to stamp out such crimes completely.
