NESTA Crime Online - University of Brighton Repository

However, the recent increase in fraud, based on counterfeit cards which still represent
nearly one-third of the total credit card fraud in the UK indicate that it was simply a
matter of time before criminals found a way around it. 42
Card ID theft has increased at an average rate of 10 per cent per year, although this
more modest increase may reflect the greater risks involved compared with other types
of credit card fraud. For instance, large fraudulent bank transfers or smaller but
uncharacteristic activities can quickly alert the credit card issuer allowing the transfer to
be suspended and tracked. Cards can also be automatically blocked and transfers
prevented. 43
The rapid growth in cybercrime comes at a time when more traditional crimes are
falling. Both police recorded crime 44 and the British Crime Survey (BCS) 2008 45 show a
steady recent decrease in violent crime – such as violence against the person, sexual
offence and knife or gun-induced robbery - falling by 10 per cent from 2006/07 to
2007/08. 46 The latest British Crime Survey estimated that the risk of becoming a victim
of crime fell from 24 per cent in 2007 to 22 per cent in 2008, representing nearly a
million fewer victims. 47 Even the total figure for fraud and forgery has reduced,
42 Interview with IT security experts at the Computer Laboratory, University of Cambridge, 21 st November
2008. An interview with Detective Inspector Roy West of the City of London Police referred to the manufacture
of ATM component parts in Eastern Europe with pinhole cameras and skimming devices which can be fitted in
seconds.
43 For example, when cards are used in high risk countries, such as Sri Lanka, they are automatically blocked
until the user calls in to confirm and verify that the card is still the property of the owner.
44 Crime data are collected from police forces on a monthly basis for each crime within the notifiable offence
list. Notifiable offences include all offences that could possibly be tried by jury (these include some less serious
offences, such as minor theft that would not usually be dealt with this way) plus a few extra closely related
offences, such as assault without injury.
45 The findings in the British Crime Survey (2008) are based on 46,983 face-to-face interviews conducted by
BMRB Social Research between April 2007 and March 2008.
46 However, the figures of total crime incidence differ considerably between these two sources, since the BCS
total for 2007/08 was 10.1 million crimes; while police recorded crimes were about 5.0 million. Home Office
(2008): “Crime in England and Wales 2007/08: A summary of the main findings”.
47 However, the risk of victimisation varies by personal and household characteristics and by crime type. Home
Office (2008): Crime in England and Wales 2007/08: A summary of the main findings.
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