Credit card fraud up 50% in EU

The Commission has launched a three-year Action Plan designed to crack down on the growing problem of fraud and counterfeiting on cards and other non-cash means of payment widely used for cross-border transactions.

The level of fraud reported equates to approximately 0.07% of the EU industry's turnover.

The Commission said that tackling the problem is principally the responsibility of the payment systems industry and will depend largely on non-legislative measures.

However, the Commission said it hopes to play a useful role in establishing systems to ensure better information exchange, stronger cross-border co-operation on co-ordinated preventative measures, and clear and binding rules with adequate sanctions for those found to break them.

The Commission, working closely with the payments industry, Member State legislators and regulators and consumer groups, intends to use the Action Plan to foster a coherent, global approach to crime prevention.

The Action Plan includes such measures as:

• The introduction of a single phone number, operational in all EU Member States (or at least a single phone number for all issuers based in each Member State) so as to make it easier for consumers to notify the loss or theft of their cards.
• The publication by the Commission, in co-operation with national data protection authorities, of guidelines on conditions for exchange of information related to fraud prevention.
• The setting-up of an EU-wide fraud prevention web site with information on initiatives and links to all relevant organisations.
• The introduction of specific initiatives to improve security of payment products and systems based on the findings of a Commission study on specific security aspects.
• To encourage the payment industry and law enforcement agencies to agree on what key items of evidence are needed to investigate and prosecute fraud cases and on a common format for the exchange of relevant information.