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2007
9.3 incidents of fraud for every 100,000 transactions: analysis
Friday December 18, 2009
Fraud is on the rise according to a recent analysis of the last three years of payments data, completed by the Australian Bankers' Association.
The analysis across three levels of data, that is cheque, debit, credit and charge cards, found that the average rate of fraud per $1,000 transacted over this time has been 7.2 cents, based on data supplied by the Australian Payments Clearing Association. This figure correlates to the actual incidences, or cases, of fraud being between 7.1 to 11.6 incidents per 100,000 transactions. Although the last three years have this figure has recorded an average of around 9.3 incidents per 100,000 transactions, a far higher rate than previously years.
It should be noted, however, that this average is actually far lower than other similar national economies with Australian fraud rates being comparable to the UK.
Australian Fraud Rates - 33 cents in every $1,000
UK Fraud Rates - approximately $1 in every $1,000
Key results (as taken from the Australian Bankers Association analysis)
Credit Cards fraud rate
- currently 52.8 cents per $1,000 transacted which is above the three-year average of 46.5 cents
- the latest survey results show there were 24.5 incidents per 100,000 transactions which is above the three-year average of 19.6.
Cheque fraud rate
- currently 0.88 cents per $1,000 transacted which is below the three-year average of 1.08 cents
- the latest survey results show there were 0.43 incidents per 100,000 cheques written which is just above the three-year average of 0.42.
Debit Card fraud rate
- currently 8.5 cents per $1,000 transacted which is above the three-year average of 7.4 cents
- the latest survey results show there were 2.1 incidents per 100,000 transactions which is the same as the three-year average.
David Bell, Chief Executive of the ABA, said: "Even though there has been a slight overall increase in fraud incidence over the past three years, the average rates of fraud remain very low when compared with the billions of transactions which cycle through the payments system."
"This is a testament to banks making continuous improvements and investments in security solutions across all the different banking channels to protect their customers," he said.
Mr Bell noted in the relase from the Australian Bankers' Association that customers should always remaina ware that while this is a serious issue and must be dealt with, generally customers do not bear the losses, it is the that banks do due to the current regime.
"Account holders are not liable for losses resulting from unauthorised transactions where it is clear that the user has not contributed to the loss. This is enshrined in the Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) Code of Conduct," he said.
The Australian Banker's Association recommends that banks and customers work together against credit cards and bank fraud including remaining vigilant with personal security and giving out any banking information, in particular when purchasing goods or services online or over the phone or when withdrawing cash at the ATM
