An increase in online shopping, as the pandemic took hold last year, saw a rise
in scams targetting debit and credit cards.
Irish consumers lost over â¬12 million through debit and credit card scams in
the first half of last year, according to new figures published by the Banking
& Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI).
The data shows that online card fraud was up 21% in the first six months of
2020, reflecting the boost in online shopping during the pandemic.
Meanwhile, in-store card fraud dropped by 52% during this period.
A total of 143,000 fraudulent card transactions were detected in between
January and May.
Brian Hayes, Chief Executive of the BPFI, said that 72% of these transactions
involved the theft of card details.
"Fraudsters do this mainly by using fake text messages, email scams or fake
websites to get a hold of a consumer's card details and go on to use those
details to make fraudulent payments mostly online," he explained.
Despite the fact that the theft of card details led to the majority of
fraudulent transactions, lost or stolen cards still accounted for about 21% of
card fraud.
Mr Hayes said this highlights the ongoing need for consumers to be vigilant
when using their card in-store.
"Our key advice in that regard is to always treat your card as you would your
cash and keep it safe at all times," he said.
New data published by the CSO this week shows that online sales were up 13% in
March, the highest increase since last May.
Mr Hayes said criminals have tailored their scams over the past 12 months to
take advantage of the rise in online shopping.
"This has led to an increase in impersonation scams with fraudsters mimicking
delivery companies for instance or trusted organisations such as utility
companies or banks via text, email and online websites," he said.
The BPFI described the rise in online scams as a worrying trend, and urged
consumers to be on high alert, particularly over the Easter period and Bank
Holiday weekend.
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