Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter. It is a fact that much of our daily business is now carried out on-line, whether as a retailer seeking to exploit the vast market that is available on-line or as a consumer seeking best value. We have quickly come to appreciate the many benefits of doing our business on-line but we have also had to become increasingly alert to the pitfalls against which we must protect ourselves, including the risk of stolen identity to effect payment card fraud on-line.

Retailers and card issuers will be particularly alert to this form of fraud and the losses to be borne. That there is neither the presence of the card nor the cardholder, and that a personal identification number is not used, means transactions carried out on-line, generally referred to as card-not-present transactions, clearly present an added risk. The Minister understands that the Irish Payment Card Services Organisation, IPSO, estimates that such fraud now represents more than 64% of all fraud carried out on Irish payment cards.

The Minister is sure the House will appreciate that the issue raised cannot be addressed solely through the apparatus of the criminal justice system. It also requires businesses and industry to take a proactive role in ensuring that the operation of payment services systems are secure and that best practice in doing business on-line is promoted to the greatest extent possible to ensure greater protection. The Garda bureau of fraud investigation, GBFI, for its part, regularly offers crime prevention advice with regard to card-not-present fraud as crime trends in this area demand or necessitate, with information provided to alert retailers, industry and the public in general. In addition, initiatives targeting those involved in this type of criminality are frequently undertaken by GBFI.

The payment card and counterfeit currency unit, PCCCU, at GBFI is the designated national unit with primary responsibility for the investigation of payment card fraud in all its guises. Members of the PCCCU work closely with Europol and other European and international law enforcement agencies in targeting groups involved in this type of criminality. Such exchanges of intelligence assist in the targeting of those engaged in this type of criminal activity across jurisdictions. Nationally, the PCCCU liaises directly with the industry through IPSO and the Irish Banking Federation. The PCCCU also works in close association with the national crime prevention office in raising public awareness and delivering crime prevention advice.

The GBFI, together with the card payments industry, continues to promote the use of security features as outlined by the Deputy, including authentication systems among on-line retailers as a proven tool to reduce both losses and risks to the retailer. In the current economic climate, the effect of losses incurred by retailers through on-line card fraud will be further accentuated. There is an onus on retailers to be proactive in this regard and to ensure they avail of all the security and fraud prevention methods that are available. Although not obligatory, the industry has provided solutions through a number of security features and authentication systems that are available to the business community. The idea of a consumer having to provide an address is a very worthwhile security procedure.

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