'Card not present' fraud rockets

Credit card fraud is an increasing problem for banks and merchants, with the incidence rising by more than a third over 2011.

Fraud on credit cards (including charge cards and scheme debit cards) increased to 96.0 cents per A$1000 for purchases in 2011, from 67.2 cents per $1000 in 2010, the Australian Payments Clearing Association said.

The incidence of fraud on these cards has increased to 51.7 in every 100,000 transactions, from 38.4 in every 100,000.

The value of losses in 2011 was $278 million. This is up from $184 million in 2010 and roughly double the value of losses due to credit card fraud in 2008.

Fraud described as "card not present" - which are mainly internet purchases, as well as telephone and mail orders - accounted for the bulk of the rise, of $66 million out of a total of $94 million.

Skimming - the practice of copying card data at the point of sale or an ATM and quickly replicating this on a new card - almost doubled over 2011, to $59 million.