CNP Fraud
CNP fraud or card-not-present fraud is a type of credit card fraud where someone uses a credit card to make a fraudulent purchase without having to physically show they have the card.
It usually occurs when card transactions take place online or over the phone. This is because often only the card number is required.
In the UK, CNP fraud accounted for 76% of total card fraud in 2019 (UK Finance, 2020).
How can this type of fraud occur?
CNP fraud happens when a criminal gets hold of the cardholder’s personal details such as name, billing address, account number and 3-digit security code. The criminal does not need the physical card to obtain these details – they can get them from online phishing scams or by stealing or using stolen customer data.
How can you avoid CNP fraud?
With CNP fraud, businesses take the hit. With the rise of online shopping, businesses are taking a number of steps to curb CNP fraud. This includes verifying the payer’s billing address and also requesting the 3-digit security code.
However, if a criminal has all your details already, this doesn’t make a difference. Only identity verification methods such as biometric methods or Bank-IDs such as OneID can effectively make sure that the person using your card to make online purchases is really you.
