In-store and online credit card fraud down in UK thanks to chip and PIN

Sky News reports that cyber crime is costing U.K. citizens more money than they may realize.

In total, the news source reports that the estimated yearly cost to residents due to internet crime is £3.1bn. This type of crime includes identity theft, online scams and fake anti-virus software.

To combat the trade of sensitive information, banks and credit card companies introduced additional security controls, such as chip and PIN verification, supplementary passwords to confirm transactions and the use of two-stage authentication technologies to enhance log-on security.

According to Bank Rate, chip and PIN card readers are more effective than the traditional magnetic credit card strip because criminals need to know the cardholder's PIN to actually use it in a transaction.

"It's very difficult if not impossible to clone the chip and PIN card," Andi Coleman, a member of the Accredited Standards Committee X9, tells the news source. "If you steal the card out of someone's wallet, you have to know the PIN in order to use the card in a transaction."

The media outlet adds that in-store credit card fraud fell from £218 million in 2004 to £98.5 million in 2008, thanks in part to the new technology.