No matter which method is used to pay for goods or services fraud will always be a threat. Most businesses will take payment by cash, cheque or plastic card which are the most comon ways of paying.
Even though the main subject of this website is the card industry, I have included some information on spotting counterfeit bank notes and advice on cheque fraud at the bottom of this page.

Credit & Debit Card Fraud

Whenever a transaction is made with a debit or credit card, the cardholder has certain rights when it comes to reclaiming the money that was paid if there is good reason; this is called a "chargeback" and it is the business that is forced to pay back the money.
If a cardholder disputes a transaction it is first advisable for them to speak to the business/person that they paid. If an agreement is not made between them, the cardholder should next speak their card issuer. The card issuer can then go about performing a chargeback for that transaction. A chargeback can occur for a number of different reasons, such as:

• The cardholder claiming that they have not received the goods or services paid for.
• The cardholder claiming that they have been charged multiple times.
• The cardholder claiming that they neither participated in nor gave authorisation for the card to be used.

Does a Chargeback Automatically Mean That Fraud Has Taken Place?
There are only a few chargeback reasons that directly relate to genuine cardholder non-participation (this is classed as fraud).
Visa has a total of 21 different chargeback reasons, MasterCard has a total of 24 different reasons.

If you are currently taking cards as payment you will most probably know that the risk from fraud can be overwelming. From my experience in the payments industry I would say that fraud is the most over looked subject for businesses new to accepting payment in this way; and can have devastating consequences.
APACS (Association for Payment Clearing Services) state in their report named "Fraud, The Facts 2006" that in 2005 card fraud in the UK amounted to an estimated total of £439.4 million, with 42% of that total being when the card or customer are not present at the time of purchase (card-not-present fraud). To read this report please Click Here (www.apacs.org.uk/resources_publications/documents/FraudtheFacts2006.pdf)

Over the years, the card insdustry have introduced some measures to try and help the merchant combat fraud. These measures are:
  Card Not Present
1.) Card Security Code checking. (CSC, CVV2)
2.) Adderss & Postcode checking. (AVS Address Verification Service)
3.) 3D Secure
  Card Present
1.) Chip and Pin
2.) Identifying markings on the card which can help to spot cloned cards.

Please use the links on the left to nagivate to the section that you need, depending on how you accept cards or use the links to get access to specific information on the fraud reduction services that are avaliable.

Other types of payment fraud.

Notes and coins.

Acording to the The Bank of England, there are about £40mllion worth of bank notes in circulation in the UK at any one time which works out to about 2 Billion individual notes. The Bank also reports that during the calendar year of 2005, the number of counterfeit notes taken out of circulation was around 505,000. Click here to see the report. (http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/about/counterfeits.htm)

Bank of England - Security features help you to identify genuine banknotes.
    Pictures & Text www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/security/index.htm
    Video www.bankofengland.co.uk/education/videos/takeacloserlook/index.htm
Scottish Bank Notes - Security features help you to identify genuine banknotes.
    Pictures & Text www.scotbanks.org.uk/forgery.htm
Northern Ireland Bank Notes
    No information. Notes are issued by the Bank of Ireland, First Trust, Northern Bank and Ulster Bank.
Isle of Man
    No information. Notes are issued by Isle of Man Treasury www.gov.im/treasury
Jersey
    No information. Notes are issued by States of Jersey Treasury www.gov.je/TreasuryResources
Guernsey
    No information. Notes are issued by States of Guernsey www.gov.gg

Cheques

There are 3 types of cheque fraud:

• Counterfeit = Cheques manufactured or printed on non-bank paper to look exactly like a genuine cheque and drawn by a fraudster on genuine accounts held by the bank.
• Forged = A genuine cheque where part or all of it has been completed by the fraudster. This is the most common type of cheque fraud scam undertaken by organised criminal gangs.
• Fraudulently altered = A genuine cheque where part or all of it has been altered by a fraudster.

According to the APACS (Association for Payment Clearing Services) report "Fraud: The Facts 2006", there were just over 5.3 million cheques issued each day in 2005, compared to 11 million in the peak year for cheque volumes, 1990. In 2005 cheque fraud in the UK amounted to £40.3 million, Counterfeit=£3.2 million, Forged=£30.9 million, Altered= £6.2 million.

To read the APACS report, which also includes advice on accepting cheques, use the link which is included in the top section of this page. Cheque information is included on Page 22 of the report.

If you accept a cheque (including bankers drafts) as payment, be very carefull, as if the cheque turns out to be fraudulent you will snd up having to re-pay the money.