Online bank fraud falls 36 per cent

gallery

UK online banking fraud dropped 36 per cent in the first half of 2010, when compared to the same period last year.

From January to June, online banking fraud losses fell to £24.9 million down from £39 million, figures from the UK Cards Association showed.

The organisation said increased customer awareness of the need for protection and banks' use of sophisticated software have both helped thwart cyber criminals.

However, the body also said internet banking fraud losses have been inconsistent over the years so the decline is not necessarily the beginning of an encouraging trend.

In the first half of 2006 online banking fraud losses stood at £22.4 million, but in the next year this had fallen to £7.5 million. In 2008, however, this figure had risen again to £25.2 million, highlighting the volatility in the area.

“This is good news and it is very reassuring, but we are by no means complacent as an industry,” a spokesperson from Financial Fraud Action UK, which works in partnership with the UK Cards Association on industry initiatives, told IT PRO.

“By no means are we being naive and expect that this is going to be the pattern from now on, or that there is no way that this could go up.”

While overall card and online banking fraud was down, phone fraud losses reached £5.8 million, representing a rise of nine per cent.

“Fraudsters are being very deceptive in the ways they are calling up people, trying to make people feel they are genuinely speaking to the correct institution,” the spokesperson added.

“Some people are underestimating how convincing these people can be. The solution … is to raise awareness and instill in people basic advice.”

Law enforcement bodies have announced a number of successes in taking down bank fraudsters recently.

Last month, Police Central e-Crime Unit officers arrested 19 people suspected of using the Zeus Trojan for multi-million pound bank account theft.

Email to a friend

Print this page