Credit card and debit card fraud has cost South Africans nearly ZAR4.5 billion since 2010. Gross losses incurred last year alone increased by 13% with more than ZAR374 million recorded, up from ZAR331.4 million in 2015.

The latest fraud data from the South African Banking Risk Information Centre (Sabric) shows that the country’s largest form of credit card fraud is card-not-present (CNP) fraud. This typically occurs when orders for goods are placed online or telephonically, and makes up nearly 70% of all credit card fraud cases tracked by Sabric, followed by counterfeit cards with 26%. Most debit card fraud (56%), on the other hand, takes place with lost or stolen cards.

According to a Business Tech report, the highest losses from CNP fraud – most of which occur at non-South African merchants in the US and UK – were used in tourism and hospitality services, including airline tickets, travel agencies, vehicle hire and hotel accommodation, as well as direct marketing.

16 May 2017
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