Are you at risk of 'fast' fraud?

The growth that Australia is experiencing in e-commerce is amongst the fastest in the world. In fact, the number of payments made using cards totalled more than $730.1 billion, which is almost $30,000 for every Australian.

But just as card use rose, so too did criminal activity, with fraudulent activity rising to $538.2 million. The largest portion of this – $443 million – was CNP fraud.

What is CNP fraud?

CNP or Card Not Present fraud is a type of scam where the customer doesn’t physically present the card used to the merchant, but is used online, by email or over the phone. This type of fraud occurs when a person’s name, card number, billing address, security code and card expiry are obtained – usually through online phishing or by theft of a business’ customer credit card information.

What can customers do?

As a customer, there are a few easy measures you can take to prevent yourself from falling victim to CNP fraud:

• Purchase from secure websites by checking encryptions and authenticity before giving your card details.

• Review your card transaction statements every month in order to verify payments.

• Set up alerts for new purchases or when your balance hits a limit to catch suspicious activity.

• Choose different passwords for logins to safeguard your information.

What can merchants do?

The merchant usually takes the hit for CNP fraud. Business owners or employees can do a few checks to stop this crime:

• Be cautious of customers trying to use multiple cards in quick succession.

• Use address verification services (AVS) to compare the billing address given by the customer with the one on the card issuer's file.

• Add fraud services offered by Visa and Mastercard to your online store to allow cardholders to self-authenticate prior to the purchase.

If you think you've been hit

If you believe that you have been attacked by fraud, contact the Australia Cybercrime Online Reporting Network at www.acorn.gov.au.