Fraud is one of the threatening problems in the credit card industry. Credit card fraud results in reputation damage and high financial losses both for the banking organizations and consumers alike and seems to be increasing. Common types of credit card fraud include counterfeiting, card not present, identity theft, and stolen card. We put together 17 credit card fraud statistics you should be aware of.

How does credit card fraud happen?

Credit card fraud occurs when consumers provide their card information to unknown parties when cards are lost or stolen, etc. Credit card frauds are committed in different ways such as unauthorized use of accounts for personal gain and misrepresentation of card information to acquire goods or services.

How to protect yourself from credit card fraud?

Do you want to ensure your financial safety? Pay close attention to the credit card fraud prevention tips we outline below.

• Never give out any piece of personal and financial details to someone who cold-calls and emails you.
  
  
• Inspect your credit card statements on regular basis for unfamiliar transactions. In case you detect one, report it to your card provider immediately.
  
  
• Don’t let other people use your card.
  
  
• Don’t conduct credit card transactions in public areas, such as libraries and airports. Don’t trust public Wi-Fi.
  
  
• Use strong passwords, if your credit card numbers are stored online.
  
  
• Freeze your account immediately, if you realize your credit card is stolen or lost.

22 credit card fraud statistics you need to know

Make yourself familiar with these 17 credit card fraud statistics.

1. According to a 2019 Javelin Strategy & Research report, more than 1 million children in the U.S. were victims of identity theft, and of those, two-thirds were younger than 8 years old.

2. The Federal Trade Commission’s “Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book” (2020) reflects 4.7 million credit card and identity theft reports, an increase from 3.2 million reports in the 2019 edition.

3. According to Aite Group, 47% of Americans experienced financial identity theft in 2020.

4. “U.S. Identity Theft: The Stark Reality” report by GIACT found that losses from identity theft cases cost $502 billion in 2019 and increased 42% to $712 billion in 2020. Another interesting fact is that the highest percentage of consumers who were victimized in 2020 were between 35 and 44 years of age and accounted for 30% of all identity theft victims.

5. The most common types of identity theft in 2020 were government documents or benefits fraud with 406375 reports, followed by 393207 cases, and loan or lease fraud and other identity theft with 558119 reports.

6. By 2025, the US is expected to reach $12.5 billion in card fraud losses.

7. Organisations with set fraud prevention programs reduced their fraud attack response expenses by 42% and their remedy expenses by 17% compared to Organisations without these measures in place.

8. 60% of organizations that conducted an investigation after a fraud attack secured a better place, only 56% of actually carried out investigations at all.

9. Card not present (CNP) fraud levels is on the rise year over year in Europe. Within the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), in 2018 CNP fraud accounted for €1.43 billion in fraud losses which are 17.7% higher than in 2017.

10. By 2023, retailers will lose about $130 billion in revenue on fraudulent card-not-present transactions if they fail to keep up with digital fraud prevention measures.

11. The total value of fraudulent transactions conducted using cards issued within the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) in 2018 was around €1.8 billion.

12. In the UK, unauthorized financial fraud losses across payment cards, remote banking, and cheques totaled nearly £784 million in 2020, a decrease of 5% compared to 2019.

13. E-commerce fraud still represents 50% of total UK card fraud losses at £310 million, as criminals exploit personal and payment details that are retained by an ever-increasingly connected business landscape.

14. Banks and card companies in the UK have prevented £1.6 billion in unauthorized fraud in 2020. This represents incidents that were discovered and prevented by firms and is equivalent to nearly £6.75 in every £10 of attempted fraud being stopped.

15. Cross-border card fraud losses on UK-issued cards accounted for 28% of all card fraud losses in 2016 compared with the global card transaction value of just 12% of all card transaction value for UK cards.

16. Total fraud losses in the Dutch payment system were nearly €82 million in 2012 and declined to €12.9 million in 2017.

17. 81% of US companies were targets of some kind of payment fraud attack in 2019, which is the 2nd highest percentage since 2009.