As card not present (CNP) fraud steadily increases, police are urged to take action

Channel onlookers have blasted the police for not taking online fraud seriously following the release of UK payment association Apacs’ yearly fraud figures.

The report showed total UK fraud increased by a quarter last year to £535.2m. Card not present (CNP) fraud, which includes internet, mail and phone fraud, was up by 37 per cent to £290.5m and now accounts for more than half of all fraud in the UK. Fraud perpetrated abroad was also up by 77 per cent to £207.6m and represents about 40 per cent of all fraud losses in the UK during 2007.

The sharp rise in CNP and overseas fraud was partly attributed to the phenomenal increase in internet shopping. About £34bn was spent online in the UK last year and Roger Butterworth, chief executive of online VAR eXpansys, told CRN that resellers should examine suspicious orders from abroad.

“The reason online fraud is so high has got nothing to do with retailers, it is because the police do not take it seriously,” said Butterworth. “I would be surprised if internet fraud does not continue to rise unless the police start trying to catch people. It’s part of their job, but they would rather chase speeding motorists.”

Adam Harris, managing director of reseller Bear IT, which trades online, claimed that internet fraud poses a serious threat to all resellers, whether they sell online or not. He said: “If I thought somebody was defrauding me, I would not know where to turn and some more advice would be appreciated. We changed our payment terms to try and be as stringent as possible.”

Sandra Quinn, director of communications for Apacs, said at its fraud briefing last week: “We cannot pretend the overall fraud figure is anything but bad news. As some types of fraud become more difficult for fraudsters, they go back to other forms. You are never going to get to a position where there is zero fraud.”