Australian Credit Card Fraud Statistics
Posted February 5th, 2010 and last modified June 1st, 2011
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In a span of two years, there were already over 35,000 lost or stolen credit cards in the country. Don't be a victim of credit card scams by tightening credit card use and security.
It is important to look at credit card fraud statistics. When you know how often fraud happens and how much it costs you will be more diligent about avoiding it. The numbers can tell you which fraudulent charges happen the most and exactly how the crimes are committed.
We all know that credit card fraud statistics are sobering. It is sad to think about how much we have to worry about when it comes to protecting our identity and our credit standing. When you look further and consider the amount of money that is spent paying for fraudulent charges and then trying to investigate the criminals you can see why credit card companies and banks are working so hard to make transactions more secure.
Credit card fraud statistics from July 2007 through June 2009 on Australian issued credit cards in Australia:
- In this time period there were 37,481 lost or stolen credit cards valued at $8,296, 698.
- Sometimes cards a never received, which means the recipient never got them in the mail because they were intercepted and used by a criminal before it ever got to their door. Between 2008 and 2009 there were 11,642 of these incidents resulting in a $3,051,298 cost.
- Another way to steal credit is through fraudulent applications, there were 2,801 of these at a cost of $1,492, 274.
- Making counterfeit cards or altering credit card is a huge problem that carries with it something called skimming where the magnetic stripe information is stolen and used illegally. There were 33,171 of these transactions that cost 19,547,087.
- By far the biggest problem noted in credit card fraud statistics is called card not present, which accounts for phone, mail, and internet charges that do not require possession of the actual card, in one year there were 97,583 of these charges that resulted in a $29,386,505 expense.
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Credit card fraud statistics from July 2007 through June 2009 on Australian issued credit cards overseas:
- The problem of fraud use is prevalent overseas on Australian card at much the same rates as those previously mentioned.
- The largest frauds are still by card not present schemes, but there are many more resulting in 234,813 transactions that cost $52,776,464.
- The never received and fraudulent application numbers are lower at only 821 never received for a value of 267,016 and 840 fraudulent applications valued at $118,544.
It is easy to understand why the credit card fraud statistics differ between in country and overseas. It is easier to commit certain crimes within the borders, like the never received and fraudulent application schemes. While overseas it is easier to commit card not present schemes. Overall though, the card not present schemes, those charges made over the internet, phone, and mail are the ones that we all have to be very concerned about because their cost and rate of growth is exploding.
Previous Article: 12 Tips For Better Internet Security When Using Your Credit Card
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