You’ve probably heard that financial identity theft is the most common credit card fraud. What’s more, with the rise of the ecommerce industry and the increased number of people using credit cards as a payment method, it comes as no surprise that the percentage of credit card fraud is getting higher by the day.

Let’s delve deeper into the topic and see why credit card fraud is so common. 

7 Credit Card Fraud Statistics (Editor’s Choice)

  • The global cost of identity theft is supposed to hit $25.6 billion by the end of 2020. 
  • Around 35% of US credit cardholders experienced credit card fraud in 2019.
  • Over 46% of the world’s credit card frauds happen in the US.
  • More than $24.2 billion was lost globally due to payment card fraud in 2018.
  • The Federal Trade Commission returned $232 million to victims of fraud and identity theft in 2019. 
  • In 2018, credit cards were used as a payment method in more than 50,000 frauds.
  • Huge losses from card fraud transactions are expected to reach $40 billion by 2027.

Interesting Credit Card Fraud Statistics and Facts

1. Due to payment card fraud, more than $24.2 billion was lost globally in 2018.

According to credit card fraud statistics by the years, more than $24.2 billion were lost globally due to cash card fraud in 2018. Interestingly, in the same year, the US accounted for 38.6% of credit card fraud losses, which was the highest percentage worldwide.   

2. Almost 65% of the time, credit card fraud results in a direct or indirect financial loss for the customer.

According to credit card theft statistics, credit card fraud accounted for 35.4% of all identity theft fraud in 2018. What’s more, around 65% of the time, credit card fraud results in a direct or indirect financial loss for the user.  

3. Huge losses from card fraud transactions are supposed to hit $40 billion by 2027.

In 2019, the world lost over $30 billion to credit card fraud. This number is set to increase significantly in the following years. Besides, according to credit card fraud statistics worldwide, significant losses from card fraud will hit $40 billion globally by 2027. 

4. More than 36% of credential theft phishing attacks target retailers.

Statistics on credit card fraud confirm that retailers and their users fall victim to over 36% credential theft phishing attacks. Next on the list of targeted industries are telecommunications (18%), business and professional services (14%), and media (8%). 

Credit card fraud has been a growing concern over the years. In 2019, the number of reports grew by a whopping 72.4% from 2018. What’s more, according to credit card theft statistics in 2019, credit card fraud was the most common type of identity theft, with more than 270,000 reports. By comparison, there were 34.8% reports of credit card fraud in 2015 and 66.2% in 2016. 

6. The global cost of identity theft is supposed to hit $25.6 billion by the end of 2020. 

Identity theft statistics in 2020 show that the global cost of identity theft is supposed to hit a massive $25.6 billion. On the flip side, the market size of identity theft protection is expected to reach $2.3 billion by the end of 2020.

Credit Card Fraud Statistics in the US

7. More than 46% of the world’s credit card fraud happens in the US.

Statistics have shown that over 46% of the world’s credit card fraud occurs in the US, of which 25.7% of charges were made to an existing credit card. Similarly, more than 21.4% of transactions were made using an existing checking or savings account, while 15.9% of transactions were made using an existing debit account. Financial accounts were also popular, with 18.5% transactions. 

8. Alabama is most at risk of credit card crime in the US.

According to credit card fraud statistics, Alabama is at a high risk of credit card fraud, with 12.78 reported cases per 100,000 citizens. By comparison, South Dakota has only 1.49 reports per 100,000 citizens.

9. In 2018, people aged 60 to 69 were most affected due to credit card fraud attacks. 

Debit card fraud statistics show that 60–69-year-olds reported 129,448 fraud cases in 2018. The least affected were 19-year-olds and under, with 21,904 reported fraud cases. 

10. On average, Americans lose $231 per credit card scam.

Credit card fraud loss statistics show that every credit card scam costs US citizens around $231. Still, investment scams have proven to be the most lucrative for scammers, amounting to $8,648 per scam. 

11. Only 1.4% of clients were affected by card-present fraud in 2018 in the US.

Credit card fraud facts show that card-present fraud where the customer used a bogus credit card affected 2.4% of US clients in 2016. However, in 2018, only 1.4% of consumers were affected. 

12. Around 35% of US credit card users have been victims of credit card fraud. 

In 2019, a survey on credit card fraud by generation was conducted involving 1,000 people. It was discovered that even though 29% of respondents were concerned about the possibility of credit card fraud, only 16.5% monitored their accounts for fraud charges. As credit card fraud facts showed, 35% of respondents had already been victims of credit card fraud, with baby boomers being the most affected generation at 42.6%. 

13. Credit card new account fraud reports increased by 88% in 2019. 

Credit card fraud statistics show that credit card fraud was the number one type of identity theft in 2019. The number of reported cases was a whopping 271,823. 

14. The US had a yearly loss of $16 billion due to credit card fraud in 2016.

According to the latest credit card frauds in 2020, projections indicate that such crime could lead to $35 billion in losses in 2020. More than $11.8 billion are lost every year due to false claims of an unauthorized purchase. Similarly, other frequent credit card fraud types include ecommerce fraud, which grew by 33% in 2016. What’s more, synthetic ID fraud accounted for 80% of total credit card fraud losses.

15. 14.4 million people were victims of identity theft in 2018. 

According to recent identity theft cases, 2018 marked a drop in the number of identity theft victims. According to the 2019 Identity Fraud Study, 16.7 million people were victims of identity theft in 2017 as opposed to 14.4 million in 2018. The overall fraud rated dropped by 15% from 2017 to 2018. 

16. In 2019, 79.6% of credit card offenders in the US were males. 

According to credit card fraud cases in 2019, 70.7% of credit card offenders were American citizens. Of that percentage, 22.2% of offenders were white, 34.2% were Hispanic, and 37.6% were black. 

Fun Facts About Credit Card Fraud

17. Remote card fraud value was $4.57 billion in 2016.

Remote fraud is one of the most popular types of credit card fraud because physical access to credit cards isn’t needed. According to online credit card fraud statistics, the total remote card fraud value was $3.4 billion in 2015, only to increase to $4.57 billion in 2016. 

18. In 2018, credit cards were used as a payment method for more than 50,000 fraudulent activities.

Credit card fraud online statistics show that wire transfers are the only method used for fraud that’s more popular than credit cards. In 2018, around $423 million was lost due to wire transfer payments. On the other hand, credit cards were used as a payment method in more than 50,000 frauds in 2018. The amount of money lost was $131 million. 

19. Credit card fraud is the fastest-growing form of identity theft.

The credit card fraud statistics in 2020 show that credit card fraud reports increased by 104% from 2019 to 2020 and continued to rise. Interestingly, the most reported credit card fraud in 2019 was the opening of new accounts, which increased by 88% from 2018 and resulted in 246,000 reports. 

20. The Federal Trade Commission returned $232 million to victims of fraud and identity theft.

According to credit card fraud statistics in 2019, the overall amount that FTC has returned to clients who were victims of some fraud is $10.94 billion. In 2019 alone, the FTC returned $232 million to fraud and identity theft victims. 

Conclusion

As we learned from the statistics above, credit card fraud is a global problem. Hopefully, these credit card fraud statistics will help you understand the extent of it and how to keep your credit card payments and information safe.