Under the new plans, cardholders will be required to give more detailed information when making purchases remotely. Under existing rules, only the cardholder’s name, card number and card expiry date are necessary. The new scheme will include printing a three digit number on the back of all cards to be given when making purchases by telephone or on a web site, in addition to the cardholder’s home address.
The move follows reports earlier this year by the Association for Payment Clearing Services (APACS) of a 40% increase in total card fraud to £190 million, although only a fraction of these fraudulent transactions are thought to have been conducted on the internet. The most prevalent type of counterfeiting involves copying data from the magnetic stripe on one card without the cardholder’s knowledge, and putting it onto another, a method known as “skimming”. According to APACS, almost all internet fraud is as a result of fraudsters using card details stolen from the “real” world, not by interception of electronic communications.
It is understood that the joint initiative will come into force next April.