Organising and Controlling Payment Card Fraud: Fraudsters and their Operational Environment

Abstract

This paper discusses how payment card fraud has changed and how it is organised in relation to the prevention efforts of the card business and retailers. Various techniques have had a significant impact on the ease with which genuine cards can be obtained and used, and recent rises in counterfeits and Internet/mail-order frauds look disproportionate because these other areas are better controlled. Variations in social and intellectual capital affect crime and its organisation. To the extent that ‘plastic’ fraudsters can remain relatively unobtrusive, unconnected with ‘heavy’ crimes such as drugs and robbery, there is no need for them to ‘get organised’ in order to enjoy a profitable career: it is easy and quick for British criminals to operate in different regions of the country, or even on the Continent. The implications of smart cards plus PIN are explored, along with other key areas of public-private partnership policing.