Contactless fraud in Denmark

With fraudsters looking for fresh ways to exploit consumers as the adoption of digital payments continues to increase globally, The European Fraud Report has revealed that Denmark has been named as Europe’s frontrunner for fraud that occurs after a card has been lost or stolen. In Denmark, losses from lost and stolen fraud accounted for 52.6% of the total losses in Denmark at the end of Q2 2018.

The losses come as Denmark, already one of the most advanced countries in the world as far as being cashless goes, continues to move towards becoming a fully cashless society.  Bank branches have been closing as the industry has become more digitalised, and users’ requirements have instead been realised with higher card limits for ATM cash withdrawals (3,000 DKK, equivalent to £363) and for contactless payments (350 DKK, equivalent to £42).

In particular, the higher contactless limit in Denmark can be linked to the level of fraudulent lost and stolen card transactions: The Danish Central Bank (DNB) reports that contactless fraud accounts for 56% of all contactless payments in Denmark. However, contactless fraud actually accounted for the smallest share of total overall fraud losses in Denmark, showing contactless to be the tool of choice for low value fraud payments.