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Fraud specialists reveal UK card fraud hotspots and fraudsters' tricks of the trade
Experts in the fight against credit card crime reveal the true extent and nature of the problem facing innocent consumers and retailers.
New research published by The 3rd Man and 192business.com identifies where the major fraud hotspots are throughout the UK and reveals exactly how card criminals ply their trade.
Figures released in April this year already show that 'card not present' crime is far higher than official figures suggest. Supporting a BBC investigation, the 3rd Man demonstrated that fraudulent credit card activity in the UK is over half a billion pounds, more than official statistics show.
Furthermore, users of 192business.com's customer ID check service have revealed that for every fraud that is reported, a further 8 attempted frauds go unreported and ignored by both law enforcement and the banks.
However, with fraudsters finding ever more sophisticated and cunning ways to steal our personal details, this latest research by the 3rd Man and 192business.com show exactly where and how such fraud is perpetrated.
“Investigations like these continue to show that card crime is a major and growing threat to consumers and retailers,” says Andrew Goodwill, fraud expert and Director for the 3rd Man Group. “By pooling and sharing online retailers' transaction data and their fraud experiences, we can see exactly how that trend is changing and continuing to grow. Fraudsters simply don't give up.”
London tops the league of fraudulent card transactions with South East London, and particularly Thamesmead (SE28), gaining notoriety as the place with the most fraudulent activity in the UK.
Based on an analysis of over 30 million 'good' and 'bad' card transactions over the past six months (January to June 2008), the findings focus on fraudulent activity by postcode. In the South East of London, for example, postcodes SE28, SE18, SE15, SE6 and SE17 house the worst offenders.
Outside of the capital, other hotspots in the top ten places include Manchester (5th) Romford (3rd) and Ilford (8th) in Essex, and Dartford (10th) in Kent. In the Midlands, Coventry (7th) is followed by Nottingham (9th).
Beyond the top ten places, Wales and Northern Ireland are the least fraudulent places in the UK with only Cardiff and Belfast recording notable levels of card fraud activity. In the South West of England, Exeter has the most fraudulent activity whilst in the North East Newcastle has the highest score. In Scotland, Aberdeen and Glasgow have relatively high incidents of fraud compared to other parts of the country.
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