How Common Is Credit Card Fraud?

What Is Credit Card Fraud?

Credit card fraud includes several types of fraud related to use of a credit card, such as:

• First-party fraud: When someone uses a credit card without any intention to repay the debt or uses a card and then claims that the purchase was fraudulent.
• New account fraud: When someone applies for a new credit card using stolen personal information.
• Existing account fraud: When someone uses an existing credit card account without the cardholder’s permission.

The FTC focuses on the latter two—when the criminal is fraudulently using someone else’s account or information—and it classifies these credit card fraud occurrences as a type of identity theft.

How Credit Card Fraud Happens

Criminals use many methods to get ahold of account information or attempt to fraudulently open new credit cards. These include:

• Stealing cards: A criminal might steal a physical credit card and try to use it before the cardholder locks their card or reports the theft to the card issuer.
• Card skimming: Criminals install skimming devices that can copy information when you swipe or dip your credit card at a card terminal. They can use the stolen information to create a copy of the credit card to use at stores.
• Phishing: Fraudsters might send phishing emails to try to trick you into sharing your login credentials or credit card’s information. Or, they might create fake ecommerce websites and steal your information when you place an order.
• Taking over accounts: Criminals might try to take over your online account if they can guess or trick you into sharing your login information. They might be able to add your card to their digital wallet or change your account’s information and get a new card sent to an address they control.
• Using stolen card account info: They might steal, guess or buy stolen credit card information and use it to create cloned cards or shop online.
• Stealing or creating identities: Criminals might buy or steal your personal information, apply for a credit card in your name and then steal it from your mailbox or have it mailed to an address they control. Alternatively, some criminals combine real and fake identifying information to create “synthetic” identities to open credit accounts.

Learn more >> What Is Identity Theft?

Credit Card Fraud Statistics

The FTC collects reports from consumers and data contributors, such as the AARP Fraud Watch Network and states’ attorneys general. The FTC releases annual reports and quarterly statistics, and it found:

• Credit card fraud reports decreased from 2022 to 2023. There were 426,045 credit card fraud complaints in 2023, down 5% from 448,470 in 2022.
• Reports of fraud decreased again in 2024. There were 214,607 credit card fraud complaints in the first half of 2024, down about 4.5% from 224,304 in the first half of 2023.

The reports also show that credit card fraud tends to be highest among people who are 20 to 50 years old, with a peak for 30 to 39 year olds.

Source: FTC

How to Avoid Credit Card Fraud

Although credit card fraud is relatively common, credit cards are a safe payment option because you aren’t responsible for unauthorized purchases. You have the right to dispute transactions if you notice someone used your card without your permission, have the card issuer shut down the account and remove the fraudulent account from your credit reports.

There are also steps you can take to avoid credit card fraud and identity theft in the first place:

• Don’t share your information when someone contacts you. Don’t respond to texts or emails asking you to share your credit card, online account information or personal information. The message might try to trick you, perhaps by saying your account was compromised or there was a fraudulent transaction and you need to verify your information. If you’re worried, look up the card issuer’s information on its website or on the back of the card and contact it using that number.
• Keep your online accounts secure. Use unique passwords for your online accounts—especially your financial accounts and any accounts that have stored payment information. A password manager can make this easier. Also, enable multifactor authentication when it’s an option to help keep people who figure out your password out of your account.
• Be careful when shopping online. Avoid entering your card info and buying products or services if an online store doesn’t appear legitimate. Look for unusually low prices and typos in the URL, especially if you found the website from social media.
• Use contactless payment options. Tapping your credit card rather than swiping or dipping it can help protect your card’s info from skimming and shimming devices. You could also add your card to a digital wallet and use that to pay rather than carrying the physical card.
• Update your devices. Keep your computer and mobile devices updated with the latest security patches to help you catch and stop malware from stealing information.
• Add a security freeze to your credit reports. You have the right to add a security freeze, more commonly known as a credit freeze, to each of your credit reports from the three national credit bureaus (Experian, TransUnion and Equifax) for free. Freezing your credit limits access to your credit reports and could help keep someone from opening a new credit card or loan in your name.

Many credit card issuers also let you set up alerts via text, email or push notification. You might be able to add alerts for every purchase, purchases over a certain amount or specific types of transactions, such as cash advances. These alerts could help you spot unauthorized transactions, letting you quickly react if someone compromises your account.

Monitor Your Accounts and Credit Report for Fraud

Monitoring your credit reports could also help you quickly spot credit card fraud if someone applies for a credit card in your name. You might get an alert when there’s a new hard inquiry from a credit application or a new credit account. Ideally, you can then contact the credit card company to report the fraud before the fraudster ever gets to use the card.

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