And now for something completely different - losses due to card fraud at EU payment terminals have fallen to the lowest level since 2005. Figures released by the European Association for Secure Transactions (East) show total losses of €107 million for the first six months of 2018 - a 43% drop - primarily as a result of a 19% dip in card skimming scams (down from €118 million to €104 million). East executive director Lachlan Gunn says: "The significant drop in card skimming incidents and losses reflects the continued effectiveness of EMV, as well as the work that has been put in by payment terminal deployers and card issuers with regard to counter-measures such as geo-blocking, fraud monitoring capabilities and fraud detection.”Logical attacks against ATMs were also down 46%, while cash machine jackpotting attempts pulled in a miserly €0.25 million, compared to €1.51 million in the equivalent period last year. Instead, criminals appear to be resorting to brute force tactics, with ram raids and explosive attacks all ticking up. Losses due to ATM related physical attacks were €15.1 million, a 24% increase from the €12.2 million reported during the same period in 2017.
Losses caused by card fraud at EU payment terminals are at their lowest level since 2005, according to data released by the European Association for Secure Transactions (East). Overall losses for H1 2018 fell 43% to €107m ($124m), in large part because of a 19% decrease in card-skimming scams – €118m to $104m. East credited the drop to the effectiveness of the EMV payment method and the efforts of terminal managers and card issuers in implementing “counter-measures such as geo-blocking, fraud monitoring capabilities and fraud detection”. However, losses from physical attacks on ATMs increased by 24% to €15m.