Over £1bn stolen through credit and debit card fraud in past year, research shows

The number of people cancelling cards in the UK hit 5.2 million in the past year

Over a third of those who have been hacked in the past year have been victims of card fraud before (Getty)

Over £1bn has been stolen from bank accounts through credit and debit card fraud in the past 12 months, new research has shown.

Figures compiled by price-comparison website comparethemarket.com, based on a survey of over 2,000 adults, reveal that one in 10 people in the UK have cancelled their credit or debit card in the past year because of attempted fraud, and an estimated 5 million people have become the victim of cybercrime.

The number of people cancelling cards in the UK hit 5.2 million in the last year, up from 4.5 million in the year to September 2016, when comparethemarket.com began collecting data.

“These findings are really shocking,” said Shakila Hashmi, head of money at the company.

“The scale of the cybercrime problem is huge, in terms of both the number of people defrauded and the amount of money stolen. With the likes of Black Friday and Cyber Monday upon us, this time of year could be seen as the perfect opportunity for online criminals, unless people take definitive steps to protect their money.”

The research shows that the average amount taken after a security breach was £544 and, based on this, the website estimates that over £1bn has been stolen as a result of credit or debit card fraud in the past year.

The Payment Systems Regulator recently announced plans to reimburse anyone scammed into transferring money into fraudulent bank accounts. But comparethemarket.com’s survey found that more than half of those questioned still think that the Government is not doing enough to crack down on cybercrime targeting consumers.

Over a third of those who have been hacked in the past year have been victims of card fraud before, the research showed, with most fraud occurring during payment processes.