Fraud Statistics Jan 20 - Dec 20
As the shift to online shopping accelerated, there was an uptick in online fraud.
Our 2021 Payment Fraud Report reveals that in 2020, with the onset of COVID-19, overall spending on Australian payment cards fell for the first time - dropping 2.2% to $801.7 billion – while card fraud rose by 0.6% to $467.6 million. Accordingly, the card fraud rate was 58.3 cents per $1,000 spent, which was slightly higher than 57.6 cents in 2019 but well below the 73.0 cents per $1,000 spent in 2018.
- Counterfeit / Skimming fraud fell 34.1% to $11.1 million
- Fraud on Lost and Stolen cards fell by 24.9% to $26.3 million
- Card-Not-Present (CNP) fraud increased by 3.8% to $418.9 million
The NAB Online Retail Sales Index estimates that online retail spending grew by 44% in 2020. As face-to-face transactions decreased during the pandemic and online shopping continued to accelerate, there was an uptick in CNP fraud.
AusPayNet’s report also indicates that as measures to counter card fraud take effect, criminal groups are turning their attention to making money from scams. The ACCC reports that Australians lost $851 million to scams in 2020, up 34% on 2019.
This year, AusPayNet has established the Economic Crime Forum, which will bring together a broad set of participants to coordinate a joint response to all economic crime - scams, fraud, financial crime, and banking-related cyber incidents - and share intelligence on emerging threats.
For more information on the data and payment fraud trends, including guidance on how consumers and merchants can reduce fraud risk, read our Payment Fraud Report below and the accompanying Media Release.
Australian Payment Fraud 2021 Report Payment Fraud Statistics Jan - Dec 2020 (Revised November 2021)Fraud Perpetrated on Australian Cheques and Cards
1 January 2020 - 31 December 2020 (Revised November 2021)
| Fraud Transactions | Total Transactions | Fraud Rates | ||||
| Number | Value | Number (millions) | Value (millions) | as % of total no. of transactions | as % of total value ($) of transactions | |
| Cheques | 652 | $4,011,665 | 41 | $407,096 | 0.0016% | 0.0010% |
| Australian-issued cards | 4,062,183 ^ | $468,977,297 ^ | 11,373 ^ | $800,920 ^ | 0.0357% | 0.0586% |
| Proprietary debit cards | 66,047 | $11,073,287 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Scheme credit, debit and charge cards | 3,996,136 | $457,904,010 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Total | 4,062,835 | $472,988,962 | 11,414 | $1,208,016 | 0.0356% | 0.0392% |
^ = Figures have been revised.
Cheque Fraud Perpetrated in Australia
1 January 2020 - 31 December 2020
| Category | Actual | Exposure | Recoveries* |
| On-Us Fraud | Transactions | Value ($) | Transactions | Value ($) | Value ($) |
| Valueless | 11 | 22,330 | 161 | 5,838,147 | 16,695 |
| Fraudulently Altered | 218 | 1,051,416 | 463 | 4,731,400 | 309,849 |
| Stolen Blank Cheque / Book | 317 | 1,221,457 | 1,621 | 15,210,902 | 109,277 |
| Originated Counterfeit Cheques | 27 | 408,121 | 79 | 2,284,325 | 141,802 |
| Non-originated Counterfeit Cheques | 59 | 1,158,223 | 590 | 16,132,131 | 4,098,741 |
| Breach of Mandate | 0 | 0 | 9 | 194,264 | 0 |
| On-Us Total | 632 | 3,861,547 | 2,923 | 44,391,169 | 4,676,364 |
| Deposit Fraud | |||||
| Valueless | 12 | 116,721 | 193 | 31,446,701 | 112,786 |
| Valueless - Kite Flying | 3 | 29,503 | 14 | 423,991 | 6,527 |
| Third Party Conversion | 5 | 3,894 | 157 | 1,551,265 | 0 |
| Deposit Total | 20 | 150,118 | 364 | 33,421,957 | 119,313 |
| Total | 652 | 4,011,665 | 3,287 | 77,813,126 | 4,795,677 |
* 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 2020 - 31 December 2020
| Category | Transactions | Value |
| Debit Card Fraud – PIN Used: | ||
| Lost/Stolen | 16,480 | 3,428,020 |
| Never Received | 1,847 | 730,722 |
| Counterfeit/Skimming | 8,204 | 2,796,632 |
| Other | 6,298 | 2,024,768 |
| PIN Used Total | 32,829 | 8,980,142 |
| Debit Card Fraud – PIN Not Used: | ||
| Lost/Stolen | 20,407 | 987,060 |
| Never Received | 4,540 | 280,248 |
| Counterfeit/Skimming | 619 | 40,128 |
| Other | 7,652 | 785,709 |
| PIN Not Used Total | 33,218 | 2,093,145 |
| Total Debit Card Fraud | 66,047 | 11,073,287 |
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 2020 - 31 December 2020 (Revised November 2021)
| Category | In Australia | Overseas | Total |
| Transactions | Value ($) | Transactions | Value ($) | Transactions | Value ($) | |
| Lost / Stolen | 217,442 | 16,556,204 | 48,789 | 5,478,476 | 266,231 | 22,034,679 |
| Never Received | 12,133 | 1,885,545 | 592 | 157,247 | 12,725 | 2,042,793 |
| Fraudulent Application | 4,899 | 2,296,398 | 870 | 339,109 | 5,769 | 2,635,507 |
| Counterfeit / Skimming | 49,828 | 3,169,197 | 48,842 | 5,113,277 | 98,670 | 8,282,474 |
| Card Not Present (CNP) | 1,794,519 | 264,575,506 | 1,804,057 | 155,510,674 | 3,598,576 | 420,086,180 |
| Other | 6,468 | 1,171,411 | 7,697 | 1,650,966 | 14,165 | 2,822,377 |
| Total | 2,085,289 | 289,654,260 | 1,910,847 | 168,249,750 | 3,996,136 | 457,904,010 |
Note: The number of fraud transactions does not represent the number of cards or consumers affected. Typically, multiple fraud transactions are made on a single card.
Fraud Perpetrated in Australia on Cards issued Overseas
| Category | Transactions | Value ($) |
| Lost / Stolen | 19,377 | 3,257,670 |
| Never Received | 436 | 85,857 |
| Fraudulent Application | 622 | 117,880 |
| Counterfeit / Skimming | 23,817 | 4,846,395 |
| Card Not Present (CNP) | 323,451 | 71,751,853 |
| Other | 1,963 | 911,129 |
| Total | 369,666 | 80,970,784 |
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.
