Use of chip cards brings card fraud online, says head of Visa Europe in Romania

The use of chip cards has triggered a shift in fraud from offline to online and Romania will soon be targeted by cyber criminals, said Catalin Cretu, general manager of Visa Europe in Romania. “Many say <I have never enrolled by card, and I have never had a fraud>. Never say never! My card and others' cards in the card industry have been subject to fraud. What we see at European level is that, since the chip card has entered the market, fraud migrated from offline to online. It is a matter of time until Romania will be spotted by cyber criminals. Fraud is currently negligible in Romania, nine times under the level reported by Visa Europe,” said Catalin Cretu.

Out of 9 million cards in Romania, only 200,000 cards have the 3D secure standards activated, which is also used by the Verified by Visa system. Over 300,000 online retailers in Europe have enrolled in Verified by Visa. In Romania, over 500 online shops use the 3D Secure standard, according to RomCard data. Enrolling in Verified by Visa generated savings of approximately EUR 225 million for companies and online merchants in 2010, by reducing online fraud and transactions costs, as well as by attracting more and more clients on their websites, and it is estimated that it would bring additional savings of EUR 375 million until the end of 2013, according to Visa Europe. editor@romania-insider.com (photo source: Visa Europe)