London is top spot for online card fraud

London is the top spot for card not present (CNP) fraud in the UK, according to a new report.

The research from fraud prevention website Early Warning put the capital first in the list of places in the country where card fraud is most prevalent. The city was followed by Manchester, Coventry, Kilmarnock and Bristol.

The research unearthed the discovery by tracking delivery addresses of fraudulently obtained goods. The website found that there was a 22 per cent increase in the amount of CNP fraud in the country with London and several other places sustaining significantly more fraudulent transactions than elsewhere.

The research even managed to drill down into postcode area, finding that SE18, including parts of Thamesmead in South-East London, was the worst place for card fraud in the UK.

Early Warning managing director Andrew Goodwill said that with such a high incidence of fraudulent purchases in so many suburbs, he was not surprised to see London top of the fraud list.

"What is notable is the number of postcodes around the country where the Fraud Map last year registered negligible fraud that are now showing 'medium' or 'high' levels. We have to accept that nowhere is exempt," he said.

The website has developed an on-line 'post-code risk assessment tool' which is being offered for free to internet retailers.

Goodwill said that the increase in internet retailing would only spur the growth of CNP fraud.

"Chip and Pin in the High Street has driven fraudsters to the web, where crime is so much easier - they can even operate from abroad," he said. "It's worth pointing out that the expected cost to traders of around £200 million this year translates into something like a £40 million loss to the UK economy as a whole from missed revenues.

Recent Home Office legislation distancing the police from the reporting of fraud makes matters worse, according to Goodwill.

"The banks and others will only report crime to the authorities if action follows. These crimes are not being anything like fully reported, which is distorting the extent of the problem," he said.

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