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Card Not Present (CNP) fraud has increased to the extent that it is now considered to be most significant fraud threat in the UK.

A CNP transaction occurs when neither the card nor the cardholder is physically present at the Merchant's premises.

The risks associated with CNP fraud include transactions conducted over the Internet, by telephone, fax and mail order. It is perpetrated when criminals manage to obtain an individual's card details. This may be through one of the following means:

• Theft of card details from discarded receipts or by looking over a person's shoulder and copying down their details during a transaction.
• Where individuals unwittingly respond to unsolicited emails, designed to obtain personal account information. These emails will often look genuine and offer inducements seeking an early reply.
• Once the fraudster has obtained your card details, false information is given to a Merchant and goods/services are purchased. These are then invariably delivered to an address that does not belong to the cardholder.

Prevention advice for customers:

• Always check your bank and card statements for suspicious transactions. If there are any suspicious entries you should contact your card issuer immediately.
• When disposing of bank and card statements and any other receipts and financial information always ensure that these are shredded.
• Never leave your card or your card details unattended and never let anyone else use your card.
• Be prepared to co-operate with retailers who may ask more security-related questions as part of their fraud-prevention processes.