Current account and credit card fraud soars by 82%

Consumers have been urged to keep an eye on their current account and card statements after an unprecedented rise this year in “account takeover” fraud.

The number of current accounts and credit cards “hijacked” by fraudsters soared by 82 per cent in the four months to the end of April, according to new figures from CIFAS, the fraud prevention service.

Account takeover occurs when fraudsters obtain sufficient information about an individual to access their current account or credit card.

The takeover of credit card accounts has more than doubled in the last year, usually in the form of one-off hijacks where the card has been fraudulently used to pay for goods. Scams also involve cards being cancelled and their replacements ordered for a false address.

To beat security processes, fraudsters need to know the answers to security questions (such as date or place of birth), passwords and/or PINs.

More than 70 per cent of account fraud takes place online, rising to nine in ten where credit cards have been taken over.

The spike in fraud this year, coming on the back of an 18 per cent increase in 2011, showed that fraud is now a greater threat to consumers than ever before, said CIFAS.