United States Leads the World in Credit Card Fraud

Data gathered by The Nilson Report reveals the United States to have the highest occurrence of credit and debit card fraud of any other country across the globe.

According to findings recently released by The Nilson Report, America is now the leading country across the globe in credit card fraud. Forty-seven percent of the world’s credit and debit card fraud occurs in the United States. That figure is even more staggering considering that the U.S. only generates some 27% of the “total volume of purchases and cash” in the world, as per the press release.

The publisher of The Nilson Report, David Robertson, explained that what is happening is that while European, Asian, Middle Eastern and African banking institutions have be quick to implement tougher security measures including embedding cards with microchips and requiring that cardholders punch in single-use passwords for transactions where the card is not present, American banks have been reluctant to adopt stricter security technologies for fear of upsetting cardholders.

In Manhattan, a credit card fraud ring was just exposed wherein servers at high-end restaurants were skimming customers’ cards. The scheme, which has allegedly been operating since April of 2010, affected over 50 American Express accountholders in restaurants in Manhattan, New Jersey and Connecticut.

Thieves used the stolen account information to purchase high-end luxury goods which were then sold for roughly 50% of the retail price. The investigation is under continuation and is being led by the Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance in cooperation with the New York City Police and The U.S. Secret Service.

“Every day, hardworking New Yorkers find themselves the victims of identity theft… It can take often take years to have their credit restored,” said Vance in a statement, according to the Gant Daily.

The serious issue of credit card fraud can negatively affect victim’s credit scores. Crooks are growing more and more sophisticated and can wreak havoc on an innocent person’s credit report by doing such things as applying for multiple cards and changing the billing address attached to the account.

While laws are in place to limit the amount of financial responsibility victims must assume for any fraudulent charges made using their credit or debit card information, they still face the necessity of negotiating with the three major credit reporting bureaus to erase all black marks from their record. Recovering from fraud can take a long time and put obstacles in the path of victims who are looking to secure a loan.

It is a wise move for all consumers to carefully investigate their credit card statements, keeping an eye out for unfamiliar activity.