UK reduced card fraud losses by £49m, the highest in Europe for third year running
The UK reduced card fraud losses by £49m last year, meaning for the third year in a row it was had the highest in Europe.
Only Britain, Hungry Sweden and Denmark improved their card fraud losses in the last 12 months, while Portugal and the Netherlands with the biggest offenders, exceeding 15 per cent losses.
The figures, published in global analytics firm FICO’s 2021 European Fraud Map with Euromonitor International and UK Finance, shows the UK had the largest net reduction of fraud across the 18 countries, for the third year running.
While it reduced its losses to the tune of £49m, it also has one of the highest attack rates in Europe, and according to Naomi Palmer, Senior Consultant, Fraud, Authentication & Financial Crime, FICO, has the highest fraud losses in Europe too.
The reporT showed that during the pandemic, on the continent, there was simultaneously economic recovery due to consumer spending, coupled with a spike in fraud losses.
“The ‘return to normal’ from the pandemic in 2021 was uneven across the continent due to variances in vaccine rollout, resurgence of covid infections, and policies regarding retail, travel and tourism,” said Naomi Palmer, Senior Consultant, Fraud, Authentication & Financial Crime, FICO.
“Only four countries of the 18 studied improved their card fraud performance in 2021. Reducing fraud in this turbulent climate was a great achievement.”