Building our defence against credit card fraud: a strategic view

Purpose – The purpose of this paper, which is based on author's PhD study, is to analyze the trends in credit card fraud prevention in the USA, the UK, Australia and Indonesia, particularly over the period 2003‐2007, with special focus on the fraud prevention practices in the payments systems. Design/methodology/approach – This study uses primary and secondary data particularly from the payments systems of the USA, the UK, Australia and Indonesia to conduct historical and benchmarking analyses to highlight the trends in credit card fraud prevention in the four countries. Findings – The study establishes that a common approach in preventing credit card fraud is reducing offenders' opportunities to commit their offences, which often require significant amount of resources and thus sound strategy needs to be properly formulated and executed. Referring primarily to the practices in the USA, the UK, Australia and Indonesia, resources are mainly allocated to six key areas of fraud prevention: understanding of the real problems, fraud prevention policy, fraud awareness, technology‐based protection, identity management and legal deterrence. These are supported in principle by four main groups in a payments system: user, institution, network and government and industry. Originality/value – The paper provides insights into the nature of credit card fraud, as well as a framework for designing a sound credit card fraud prevention strategy in a country's payments system.