Fraud Statistics Jan 23 - Dec 23
In 2023, there was a 22% increase in the payment card fraud rate, the highest rate recorded since 2018.
According to the 2024 Australian Payment Fraud Report, there was a 22 per cent increase in the payment card fraud rate to 70.2 cents per $1,000 in calendar year 2023, the highest rate recorded since 2018.
The figures show a 32 per cent increase year-on-year in the total value of fraud to $762 million. This increase outpaced the growth in the total value of card transactions, which rose by 8 per cent to $1.1 trillion.
Card-Not-Present (CNP) fraud accounted for 90 per cent of all card fraud in Australia in 2023. CNP fraud grew by 33 per cent to $688 million, on total CNP spending of $320 billion, up 24 per cent on the previous year.
The growth in CNP fraud was fuelled by a sharp rise in offshore CNP fraud, involving Australian-issued cards used on overseas merchants. For the first time since 2017, offshore CNP fraud overtook domestic CNP fraud, with losses in this category increasing by 51 per cent to $362 million. The offshore CNP fraud rate was $10.93 per $1,000 spent, over 10 times higher than the domestic rate of $1.06 per $1,000 spent (down from $1.11 in 2022).
For more information on the data and payment fraud trends, read the 2024 Australian Payment Fraud Report below and the accompanying media release.
- Fraud on lost and stolen cards increased by 24 per cent to $52 million
- Counterfeit/skimming fraud increased by 8.5 per cent to $7.7 million
- Card-not-present (CNP) fraud increased by 33 per cent to $688 million
- Cheque fraud increased by 97 per cent to $4.8 million
Fraud Perpetrated on Australian Cheques and Cards
1 January 2023 - 31 December 2023
| Fraud Transactions | Total Transactions | Fraud Rates | ||||
| Number | Value | Number (millions) | Value (millions) | as % of total no. of transactions | as % of total value ($) of transactions | |
| Cheques | 952 | $4,816,012 | 22 | $253,971 | 0.0044% | 0.0019% |
| Australian-issued cards | 5,771,058 | $761,575,275 | 15,057 | $1,085,284 | 0.0383% | 0.0702% |
| Proprietary debit cards | 89,013 | $12,312,905 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Scheme credit, debit and charge cards | 5,682,045 | $749,262,370 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Total | 5,772,010 | $766,391,287 | 15,078 | $1,339,255 | 0.0383% | 0.0572% |
Cheque Fraud Perpetrated in Australia
1 January 2023 - 31 December 2023
| Category | Actual | Exposure | Recoveries* |
| On-Us Fraud | Transactions | Value ($) | Transactions | Value ($) | Value ($) |
| Valueless | 13 | 814,538 | 206 | 27,110,525 | 635,800 |
| Fraudulently Altered | 89 | 510,502 | 324 | 1,925,262 | 331,984 |
| Stolen Blank Cheque / Book | 731 | 1,718,604 | 1,655 | 11,697,168 | 2,257,534 |
| Originated Counterfeit Cheques | 44 | 493,167 | 139 | 2,220,360 | 427,202 |
| Non-originated Counterfeit Cheques | 21 | 244,511 | 155 | 12,434,148 | 1,110,285 |
| Breach of Mandate | 4 | 28,755 | 9 | 109,981 | 0 |
| On-Us Total | 902 | 3,810,077 | 2,488 | 55,497,444 | 4,762,805 |
| Deposit Fraud | |||||
| Valueless | 33 | 920,326 | 382 | 18,202,031 | 1,414,263 |
| Valueless - Kite Flying | 10 | 62,279 | 53 | 528,859 | 53,450 |
| Third Party Conversion | 7 | 23,330 | 408 | 26,106,057 | 813,784 |
| Deposit Total | 50 | 1,005,935 | 843 | 44,836,947 | 2,281,497 |
| Total | 952 | 4,816,012 | 3,331 | 100,334,391 | 7,044,302 |
* 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 2023 - 31 December 2023
| Category | Transactions | Value |
| Debit Card Fraud – PIN Used: | ||
| Lost/Stolen | 18,230 | 2,646,291 |
| Never Received | 2,174 | 251,605 |
| Counterfeit/Skimming | 9,894 | 3,916,999 |
| Other | 6,731 | 2,059,222 |
| PIN Used Total | 37,029 | 8,874,117 |
| Debit Card Fraud – PIN Not Used: | ||
| Lost/Stolen | 35,674 | 2,074,515 |
| Never Received | 4,189 | 220,496 |
| Counterfeit/Skimming | 382 | 187,067 |
| Other | 11,739 | 956,710 |
| PIN Not Used Total | 51,984 | 3,438,788 |
| Total Debit Card Fraud | 89,013 | 12,312,905 |
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 2023 - 31 December 2023
| Category | In Australia | Overseas | Total |
| Transactions | Value ($) | Transactions | Value ($) | Transactions | Value ($) | |
| Lost / Stolen | 306,297 | 24,563,275 | 168,722 | 22,634,090 | 475,019 | 47,197,365 |
| Never Received | 10,701 | 1,098,923 | 703 | 127,204 | 11,404 | 1,226,127 |
| Fraudulent Application | 1,753 | 669,042 | 607 | 202,412 | 2,360 | 871,454 |
| Counterfeit / Skimming | 5,098 | 1,108,397 | 6,595 | 2,472,843 | 11,693 | 3,581,240 |
| Card Not Present (CNP) | 2,458,990 | 325,423,473 | 2,703,097 | 362,473,860 | 5,162,087 | 687,897,333 |
| Other | 11,413 | 3,828,360 | 8,069 | 4,660,492 | 19,482 | 8,488,852 |
| Total | 2,794,252 | 356,691,471 | 2,887,793 | 392,570,900 | 5,682,045 | 749,262,370 |
Note: The number of fraud transactions does not represent the number of cards or consumers affected. Typically, multiple fraud transactions are made on a single card.
Fraud Perpetrated in Australia on Cards issued Overseas
| Category | Transactions | Value ($) |
| Lost / Stolen | 18,753 | 3,279,340 |
| Never Received | 1,207 | 182,517 |
| Fraudulent Application | 765 | 178,738 |
| Counterfeit / Skimming | 24,150 | 5,062,336 |
| Card Not Present (CNP) | 364,608 | 74,823,921 |
| Other | 7,343 | 1,811,279 |
| Total | 416,826 | 85,338,131 |
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.
