#14unit 1online security and payment system

Credit card fraud / Theft

Theft and misuse of payment card information.

3D Learning World

Interactive Visualizations

Topic Diagrams

Causes of credit card fraud: past vs. present

Historically, lost/stolen cards and employee theft dominated; today, server hacking is the leading cause.

Past causes

  • Lost or stolen card used by someone else
  • Employee theft of customer numbers
  • Stolen identities (false credit card applications)

Present causes

  • Systematic hacking of corporate servers
  • Mass theft of millions of card records
  • International order fraud (2× domestic rate)

In the past, credit card fraud was most often caused by lost or stolen cards, employee theft, or stolen identities used to apply for cards. Today, the most frequent cause is the systematic hacking and looting of corporate servers where millions of card records are stored. International orders carry about twice the fraud loss rate of domestic orders.

Explanation: In the past, credit card fraud was most often caused by lost or stolen cards, employee theft, or stolen identities used to apply for cards. Today, the most frequent cause is the systematic hacking and looting of corporate servers where millions of card records are stored. International orders carry about twice the fraud loss rate of domestic orders.