Fraud Statistics Jan 19 - Dec 19
The data shows a sharp decline in card fraud
Card fraud declines sharply in 2019
Our 2020 Payment Fraud Report shows that in 2019, card fraud fell by 19.5% to $464 million - the biggest decline ever - as total card spending rose 3.9% to a record $819 billion. This translates to a fraud rate of 56.6¢ per $1,000 spent, a significant drop from 73.1¢ per $1,000 in 2018.
- Fraud on Lost and Stolen cards fell by 37% to $35 million
- Counterfeit /Skimming fraud fell by 14.3% to $16.8 million
- Card-Not-Present fraud fell by 17.7% to $402.6 million
The drop in card-not-present (CNP) fraud, mainly affecting online transactions, is the first ever and coincides in part with the introduction in July 2019 of the industry CNP Fraud Mitigation Framework.
The industry is committed to tackling CNP fraud, which accounts for 87% of all card fraud, and remains vigilant as e-commerce volumes increase during the COVID-19 pandemic.
For more information on the data and payment fraud trends, including a “Spotlight on Scams”, read our Payment Fraud Report below and the accompanying Media Release.
Australian Payment Fraud 2020 Report Payment Fraud Statistics Jan - Dec 2019 Revised October 20Fraud Perpetrated on Australian Cheques and Cards
1 January 2019 - 31 December 2019 (Revised October 2020)
| Fraud Transactions | Total Transactions | Fraud Rates | ||||
| Number | Value | Number (millions) | Value (millions) | as % of total no. of transactions | as % of total value ($) of transactions | |
| Cheques | 680 | $4,831,888 | 57 ^ | $602,094 ^ | 0.0012% | 0.0008% |
| Australian-issued cards | 3,796,069 ^ | $464,959,518 ^ | 11,010 | $819,359 ^ | 0.0345% | 0.0567%% |
| Proprietary debit cards | 76,068 | $14,041,182 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Scheme credit, debit and charge cards | 3,720,001 ^ | $450,918,336 ^ | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Total | 3,796,749 | $469,791,406 | 11,067 | $1,421,454 | 0.0343% | 0.0331% |
Cheque Fraud Perpetrated in Australia
1 January 2019 - 31 December 2019
| Category | Actual | Exposure | Recoveries* |
| On-Us Fraud | Transactions | Value ($) | Transactions | Value ($) | Value ($) |
| Valueless | 2 | 44,133 | 314 | 10,432,647 | 37,815 |
| Fraudulently Altered | 213 | 1,465,322 | 411 | 6,193,117 | 159,185 |
| Stolen Blank Cheque / Book | 406 | 1,924,384 | 1,661 | 10,022,739 | 524,473 |
| Originated Counterfeit Cheques | 16 | 413,121 | 83 | 2,621,544 | 94,648 |
| Non-originated Counterfeit Cheques | 26 | 590,998 | 200 | 7,338,199 | 65,207 |
| Breach of Mandate | 0 | 0 | 37 | 80,438 | 0 |
| On-Us Total | 663 | 4,437,958 | 2,706 | 36,688,684 | 881,328 |
| Deposit Fraud | |||||
| Valueless | 13 | 385,211 | 308 | 17,999,276 | 100,000 |
| Valueless - Kite Flying | 0 | 0 | 12 | 276,811 | 1,375 |
| Third Party Conversion | 4 | 8,719 | 85 | 1,060,472 | 0 |
| Deposit Total | 17 | 393,930 | 405 | 19,336,559 | 101,375 |
| Total | 680 | 4,831,888 | 3,111 | 56,025,243 | 982,703 |
* Data on the 'transactions' of recoveries is not collected.
“Actual” losses can relate to “Exposure” during an earlier period. This explains why, in some reporting periods,actual losses may exceed exposure.
Proprietary Debit Card Fraud Perpetrated in Australia
1 January 2019 - 31 December 2019
| Category | Transactions | Value |
| Debit Card Fraud – PIN Used: | ||
| Lost/Stolen | 17,847 | 3,409,332 |
| Never Received | 2,889 | 773,250 |
| Counterfeit/Skimming | 17,813 | 5,836,147 |
| Other | 6,266 | 2,029,188 |
| PIN Used Total | 44,815 | 12,047,917 |
| Debit Card Fraud – PIN Not Used: | ||
| Lost/Stolen | 21,382 | 1,134,282 |
| Never Received | 2,910 | 143,035 |
| Counterfeit/Skimming | 2,072 | 186,468 |
| Other | 4,889 | 529,480 |
| PIN Not Used Total | 31,253 | 1,993,265 |
| Total Debit Card Fraud | 76,068 | 14,041,182 |
Note: For fraudulent transactions initiated at ATMs, POS terminals and other devices, the above statistics incorporate all transactions where either "cheque" or "savings" was selected, regardless of the type of card used (that is debit card, 'combo’ card, scheme card etc). The number of fraud transactions does not represent the number of cards or consumers affected. Typically, multiple fraud transactions are made on a single card.
Scheme Credit, Debit and Charge Card Fraud
Perpetrated in Australia and Overseas on Australia-issued Cards
1 January 2019 - 31 December 2019 (Revised October 2020)
| Category | In Australia | Overseas | Total |
| Transactions | Value ($) | Transactions | Value ($) | Transactions | Value ($) | |
| Lost / Stolen | 285,284 | 19,017,363 | 55,216 | 11,536,445 | 340,500 | 30,553,808 |
| Never Received | 16,792 | 1,917,622 | 547 | 120,421 | 17,339 | 2,038,042 |
| Fraudulent Application | 5,851 | 1,957,245 | 1,261 | 481,136 | 7,112 | 2,438,381 |
| Counterfeit / Skimming | 42,340 | 4,518,321 | 41,447 | 6,309,248 | 83,787 | 10,827,569 |
| Card Not Present (CNP) | 1,726,319 | 224,486,864 | 1,539,123 | 178,944,859 | 3,265,442 | 403,431,723 |
| Other | 3,955 | 961,179 | 1,866 | 667,633 | 5,821 | 1,628,812 |
| Total | 2,080,541 | 252,858,593 | 1,639,460 | 198,059,743 | 3,720,001 | 450,918,336 |
Note: The number of fraud transactions does not represent the number of cards or consumers affected. Typically, multiple fraud transactions are made on a single card.
Fraud Perpetrated in Australia on Cards issued Overseas
| Category | Transactions | Value ($) |
| Lost / Stolen | 15,953 | 4,549,358 |
| Never Received | 833 | 158,729 |
| Fraudulent Application | 657 | 141,263 |
| Counterfeit / Skimming | 21,016 | 7,290,557 |
| Card Not Present (CNP) | 300,870 | 82,587,745 |
| Other | 2,604 | 914,936 |
| Total | 341,933 | 95,642,587 |
Note: The number of fraud transactions does not represent the number of cards or consumers affected. Typically, multiple fraud transactions are made on a single card.
