New credit card security measures aim to beat online criminals at their own game

PCPro reported earlier this month that credit card fraud has dropped by 22 percent since 2009. The fall was due primarily to users protecting their computers better with updated anti-virus software.

Additionally, improved card verification methods and intelligence software, such as 3-D Secure, have added extra layers of online security for credit and debit Cardholder Not Present (CNP) transactions, according to Advansys.

However, a related story in PCPro reported that anti-fraud officials may have overlooked a resource for tracking down online crooks. The key, according to Colin Holder, Identity Intelligence (IDI) director, is to use their own corrupt websites against them.

"Millions of fraudulent applications could be detected and prevented if the credit agencies checked against the data that the criminals have in their possession, rather than just the information supplied to them by legitimate institutions," Holder told the news source.

He mentioned that security officials should be reviewing information from the more than 4,500 criminal websites that exist to spot fraud. This opens an opportunity for anti-fraud experts to build a clearer risk profile for individuals whose private details are most likely to be used in phishing scams, according to the news source.