Credit And Charge Cards Drive Up Fraud Rates In Australia

The combined fraud rate for charge, credit and debit cards in Australia last year equaled 27.9 Australian cents (27 U.S. cents or 17 euros cents) per AU$1,000 spent, up 16.7% from 23.9 Australian cents the previous year, according to the Australian Payments Clearing Association. The overall fraud rate for checks and payment cards remained steady at 6.2 Australian cents per AU$1,000, down slightly from 6.3 Australian cents in 2006, says the group, which has about 80 members, including issuers. But increasing fraud on card transactions conducted by phone or on the Internet helped increase the rate for payment cards. "Australia's increase in [card-not-present and cross-border] fraud appears consistent with trends reported in the UK and the Asia-Pacific region over the last few years," Chris Hamilton, the group's chief executive, says in a statement. Fraud rates for charge and credit cards increased to 44.5 cents per AU$1,000, up 20.6% from 36.9 cents for 2006, the group says. Fraud rates for debit cards dropped to 7.1 Australian cents per AU$1,000, down 7.8% from 7.7 cents in 2006.