Amount stolen in card frauds this year to hit €14.5m

ALMOST €15 million is expected to be stolen in credit and ATM card fraud this year, according to new figures.

Garda statistics show such fraud amounted to €13m in 2005 and expect the figure to grow to around €14.5m by the end of this year. ATM fraud for 2005 came to €4m.

Publishing the information, Justice Minister Michael McDowell said payment card fraud increased by around 30% per annum up until 2002 and had fallen slightly since.

“In relation to ATM fraud specifically, there has been a dramatic decrease in 2006, with a drop of 65% on the previous year,” he said.

“I understand that this substantial decrease is in part attributable to the arrest and conviction of a number of criminal gangs which had been operating in this jurisdiction.”

The minister said action to combat payment card fraud had been taken by the Irish Payments Services Organisation (IPSO), the umbrella body for the Irish payments industry.

“These actions include coordinating the Irish implementation of the chip and pin migration programme as part of a Europe-wide, anti-fraud initiative.”

The minister was responding to a Dáil question from Fine Gael TD Bernard Durkan.

“The deputy might like to note that it will no longer be possible to bypass chip and pin from March 2007,” said Mr McDowell.

He said that, in addition to this, the Credit Card Forum (CFF), made up of senior fraud staff from each of the banks and institutions, met regularly under the auspices of the IPSO Card Services.

“One of this group’s prime responsibilities is to control the cost of plastic card crime by facilitating anti-fraud initiatives and preparing for possible future crime trends,” he added.

The minister encouraged people to log on to www.safecard.ie for advice which he said was particularly useful for people trying to combat fraud in their place of business.