Financial institutions should take a more holistic approach to fraud prevention or risk losses spiralling out of control, according to a new report published by European payments industry leader Nets.

The European Fraud Report - Payments Industry Challenges draws on the newest published research and comments from retailers and payments industry players to comprise the most comprehensive report on tackling card fraud across Europe. With the total annual value of fraudulent transactions across Europe amounting to €1.8 billion, and the dramatic increase in card not present (CNP) fraud, the need for fraud prevention has never been greater – but this is an increasingly complicated business.

Sune Gabelgård, Head of Digital Fraud, Intelligence & Research, Nets, comments: “Although initiatives such as EMV implementation and 3D-Secure have done much to reduce losses from lost and stolen cards in Europe, the payments industry still faces challenges. Many issuing banks have focused on fraud prevention through consumer education, by increasing awareness of the risks of phishing and other scams. When presented with all relevant data, however, it is clear that the industry must focus on tackling the problem of fraud where it starts on the internet, as this is one of the biggest challenges today and rarely has anything to do with the customer.”

The report explores the complexities facing fraud prevention teams within financial institutions, including mass adoption of e-commerce, cross-border trade, new legislation and the popularity of new digital payment methods. It also examines the impact of organised criminal enterprises’ use of pre-packaged scams, also known as Fraud as a Service (FaaS), and how this challenge is best addressed both by providing consumer education on criminal tactics and tackling fraudsters head-on.

The European Fraud Report - Payments Industry Challenges is available to download free of charge from the Nets website and an accompanying webinar is available to watch on demand.