Credit card fraud on the rise, say banks

Fraud involving credit cards issued in the GCC, after years of being kept at bay, appears to be on the rise, bankers said.

Speaking on the sidelines at the 10th Annual Cards Middle East conference, Jonathan Campbell-James, HSBC’s regional head for security and fraud risk, said the bank had experienced a “notable” jump in fraud in the first quarter of 2009 from the previous year.

“I think we will see by the middle of the year that we’ll be suffering from more [fraudulent] transactions,” Mr Campbell-James said.