According to data from FICO and Euromonitor International, card fraud losses increased 6 percent in 2012 from 2011 while 80 percent of this increase came from Russia, France and the United Kingdom.
Card fraud losses in France comprised €435 million, or 29 percent of losses for all of Europe, the highest of any nation. The UK, which had Europe’s highest card fraud loss share for several years, was not far behind with 27 percent (€405 million). Meanwhile card fraud losses in Russia totaled €91.4 million, making up 6 percent of all card fraud losses in Europe, which totaled €1.5 billion. While Russia still makes up a relatively small share of the total card fraud losses in Europe it was the nation with the largest increase in loss volume. The volume of card fraud losses in Russia has tripled since 2010 and the rapid growth in card fraud has occurred in conjunction with the strong increase in use of payment cards as usage doubled in 2012.
All types of card fraud were considered for this study including Card Not Present fraud, counterfeit cards, lost/stolen cards, cards taken via mail, and ID fraud. The type of fraud that was most prevalent in 2012 varied greatly by country. CNP fraud was the biggest contributor in the UK, making up more than half of total card fraud losses, as well as in Germany, Greece and the Netherlands. In France, however, lost/stolen card fraud made up the largest share while in Russia lost/stolen and counterfeit cards were the biggest sources of card fraud losses. 2012 marked the largest volume of card fraud losses in Europe since 2008.
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