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CIFAS, the UK's Fraud Prevention Service, has found that almost all types of financial fraud have increased in the country between 2006 and 2007.
Research by the organisation focuses on results from the first quarter of 2006 and the same period this year and it does not make for good reading.
According to CIFAS, application fraud, which sees people lying in order to obtain credit cards, loans, bank accounts or insurance, has increased by 21 per cent in the last 12 months.
Identity fraud is also on the rise, with cases increasing by 12 per cent and current address and previous address fraud are also growing.
"These quarterly figures show a worrying escalation in many types of financial fraud," commented Peter Hurst, chief executive of CIFAS.
"The scale of fraudulent activity is alarming. It emphasises the need for businesses constantly to be alert when dealing with applications."
Despite large growth in many areas, CIFAS says that it has been experiencing positive results in its bid to prevent fraud.
According to figures released by the organisation, fraud prevention activity saved organisations £94,000 per hour, compared to £74,000 per hour for the same period in 2006.
Source: nationsfinance.co.uk
Posted April 25th, 2007 by Armen Hareyan
ID KEY system will make fraud a thing of past.
Fraud crimes will continue to grow until we exploit ID KEY (memory stick or card) system which will make both the signature and PIN number systems reliable as follows. Details on ID KEY system on website www.theuniversalidsystem.com
ID KEY will activate printer to print ID sticker (small sticker with person's image and name printed on it) which can be attached to the document and countersigned to personalise signature. Chip and PIN system does not make entire signature system reliable the way personalised signature system will and hence is not good enough in combating fraud crimes. Current signature system is like passports without photos and that is why it is so difficult to deter and prosecute fraudsters. Why would anyone get tempted to misuse this system when they know that in the event of crime we will know who they are?
ID KEY will be needed to activate ATMs, Why would anyone get tempted to use stolen or skimmed cards when they know that ATM will not get activated without the use of Card Key Code stored in ID KEY?
*Chip and PIN card system is boosting ATM fraud because fraudsters now have option to skim cards and pick PIN numbers even from retail outlets rather than only ATMs.
Systems like Chip and PIN, biometric ID cards etc. will not make signature and PIN number system at ATMs reliable the way ID KEY system will and hence these systems will only make bad problems worse by diverting fraud crimes to other sectors.