According to recent research carried out by a UK security software company, card fraud is expected to affect one in three British adults throughout 2009, marking a 33 percent increase compared to 2008.

The predictive analysis considers such factors as the evolution of the global e-crime marketplace as well as third-party reports regarding the effects of the current credit crunch on card fraud. The report in question also indicates that one of the main factors behind the expected surge in credit fraud is the fact that stolen UK card data is sold to areas such as North America, where some retail stores continue to employ signature-only transaction authentication. This in turn allows for fraud on UK cards to be perpetrated abroad.

According to the company which carried out the research, prices for stolen UK payment card data have dropped on the black market within the past 18 months. Thus, if 18 months ago a package made up of a card number, start/expiry dates, three digit CVVs and any other data stolen from the card’s magnetic stripe was priced at USD 15 on the black market, in October 2008 the price had dropped to USD 2. This indicates that fraud volumes have correspondingly increased, forcing criminals to obtain and attempt to sell larger volume of fraudulent data.

The survey and statistics were compiled by UK security software provider Fortify Software.