14 DAY TRIAL // According to a report released by life insurance company CPP, card fraud has affected seven percent of the adult UK population last year and 13 million people overall.
The UK adult population is a bit over 49 million, which means as much as 28% of adults have been affected by this type of fraud at least once in their lifetimes.
The company points out that last year's 7% estimate is actually good news because it represents a 3% drop from 2009's percentage of card victims.
However, ATM fraud seems to be on the rise, with a total of 20% of card fraud incidents having involved magstripes being stolen and cloned. This is a three percent increase over last year.
Another 20% of victims have had their card details stolen and misused online, while 33% of people who were affected by this type of fraud don't know how their card information was compromised.
Over a third, 34%, learned about the fraud from their bank. Six percent realized it after their cards were refused by ATMs and another 6% after being refused at points of sale.
The average monetary loss reported was £417, but CPP notes that one in twenty victims were defrauded with more than £2,000.
The company also found that a considerable number of consumers still don't engage in safe card use practices, like checking ATMs for signs of tampering or covering their PIN sequence when entering it.
"[...] With card fraud costing the UK £440 million a year, consumers still need to remain vigilant and not let their guard down. We want to see the continued decrease in card fraud and hope that consumers will take responsibility alongside industry initiatives," said Sarah Blaney, card fraud expert at CPP.