One in Four Consumers Worldwide Victimized by Payment Card Fraud

More than one in four (27%) of consumers worldwide have directly experienced credit, debit or pre-paid card fraud during the past five years, according to a recent survey of 5,200 consumers in 17 countries. In the U.S., 42% of surveyed consumers had experienced card fraud, second only to Mexico's 44%. The Netherlands and Sweden were at the bottom of the list, each with 12%.

After experiencing card fraud, 21% of consumers report that they will stop using or switch from the card affected by the fraud. Among consumers that receive replacement cards as the result of a data breach or fraudulent activity, 46% use the new card less than the original, according to the annual Global Fraud Report from ACI Worldwide and Aite Group.

In 2012, identity theft replaced credit card fraud as the greatest consumer concern from fraud exposure, with 49% of respondents indicating they were very concerned about possible harm to their financial standing and rating.

However, many consumers continue to engage in behaviors that put them at higher risk of fraud, including:
· Keeping written records of PIN numbers
· Throwing unshredded documents containing sensitive information into trash bins
· Using public computers, or computers without security software, for Internet banking services and to shop online.

"While there have been significant advances in fraud prevention technology, it is clear that more needs to be done to educate consumers about fraud and engage them as allies when it occurs," said Mike Braatz, senior vice president, payments fraud at ACI Worldwide in a statement. "These results should serve as a call-to-action for financial institutions and retailers to remain constantly vigilant and earn the trust of customers by working with them to combat fraud."

The survey was conducted in July and August 2012 using online quantitative market research in three global regions: The Americas; EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) and Asia-Pacific. Approximately 300 consumers, divided equally between males and females, participated in each of the 17 countries.

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