Debit card fraud hits all-time low

Interac Association says Interac debit card fraud losses, as a result of skimming, are at their lowest level on record since 2003 — falling to $38.5 million in 2012 from a high of $142 million in 2009.

This represents fewer than one per cent of domestic Interac debit card volume and the lowest volume of fraud losses since data was first recorded in 2003.

In addition, says Interac, the number of cardholders reimbursed fell to 93,800 in 2012 from 238,000 in 2009.

Caroline Hubberstey, the head of external communications for Interac Association, says the ongoing conversion to chip technology is a vital tactic in the fraud prevention strategy.

Interac says unlike a magnetic stripe, chip technology makes it extremely difficult to copy and reproduce.

By the end of January, 99 per cent of all active Interac debit cards 99.6 per cent of automatic banking machines (ABMs) had been converted to chip.