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Which nation ranks No. 1 in card fraud? (Hint: It's not the US)

August 10, 2016

A recent Aite Group study indicates that Mexico has become the top spot for card fraud with even greater numbers of victims there than in the United States, which ranked highest in card fraud in 2014, but has dropped to third place this year behind Mexico and Brazil, where fraud has spiked during the past year.

The report, "2016 Global Consumer Card Fraud: Where Card Fraud Is Coming From," is the first in a two-part series that examines how card fraud affects consumers and looks at consumers' fraud experiences, their trust in financial institutions, and their own fraudster-friendly behaviors. 

Findings in the 48-page impact report were gleaned from a survey conducted in March by ACI Worldwide, which polled 6,035 consumers in 20 different countries.

The chart at left includes current fraud rankings for these countries as well as fraud rates in 2014 and 2012.

According to a summary of the report, "With thousands of confirmed data breaches in 2015 and billions of data records stolen since 2013, the assumption should be that almost all global consumers’ credentials and/or card information has been compromised.

"Meanwhile, the underground market for user information has matured so much that it is indistinguishable from a legitimate economy."

In the report, Aite Group seeks to help banks answer two critical questions about fraud: 1) Given the high threat level of fraud, can financial institutions and consumers prevent it?; and 2) If not, how can FIs reduce costs and protect revenue when fraud does occur?