Credit card fraud rates have jumped to a five-year high as criminals use social media to steal thousands from consumers, new research shows.
The detected fraud rate for cards rose by 42 per cent in the final quarter of 2021, the highest rate seen since 2017, according to data from the National Fraud Hunter Prevention Service which was analysed by Experian.
Almost three-quarters of cases detected also involved the fraudster using the victims’ current address to apply for credit with these trends expected to grow in 2022.
Typically, a rise in fraudulent activity is detected over the festive shopping period.
However, last year fraudsters aimed to take advantage of a rise in genuine applications to access credit using stolen personal details.
It has been warned that oversharing on social media may be contributing to this, as personal details can be easily stolen and used to commit fraud online.
Mark, from London, is one such person who fell victim to identity fraud – even after taking steps to shut down a scam.
Mark, which is not his real name, found out he was targeted by fraudsters when he received a letter from Companies House saying he was registered as a director of a recently created company.
After going through the process of having the fake company shut down, he believed this was the end of the matter.
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However, some months later, Mark received a letter from a credit card company alerting him to a fraudulent application made using his name, but…
