Banks fearful to reveal their vulnerability: Internet fraud
Date: December 05, 2006Source: e-consultancy.com
Fearful of damaging their reputations and denting consumer confidence, online banks are hiding the true extent of online fraud, according to a senior police officer.
The Guardian reports that Detective Superintendent Russell Day told an all-party parliamentary group investigating online fraud that banks are failing to report instances of phishing and other forms of swinish behaviour.
One MP, Nigel Evans, estimated that the cost of identity theft to the UK economy could be much greater than the official figure of £1.7 billion a year.
A recent report by the Association of Payment Clearing Services (APACS) estimated that internet fraud accounts for a quarter of all card fraud losses.
Whilst total card fraud losses decreased by 13% in the six months to June 2005 (from £252.6m to £219.4m) compared with the same period in 2004 (mainly due to the introduction of chip and PIN) internet fraud was the one area that continued to grow.
Phishing is believed to be the biggest problem in online banking. The Guardian reports that the number of bogus bank websites increased by nearly 1,500% this year.
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