Payment card fraud rises 24% to €25m

The scale of bank card fraud is continuing to rise, with €25.7m being scammed by criminals off unsuspecting card holders last year.

Figures published by the Irish Payment Services Organisation show the gross value of payment card fraud in Ireland soared by more than 24% in 2011.

The sharp rise was largely attributable to the value of debit card fraud, which more than doubled last year to €9.4m. Credit card fraud accounted for €14.3m of all fraudulent transactions, while €2m was lost through criminal use of ATM cards.