The annual cost of credit card fraud worldwide amounts to some $3 billion, with more and more such fraud affecting Europe. Organised gangs from Latin America are commissioned to steal plastic with a view to recycling it in other parts of the globe. One idea is to replace signature on cards with a microchip incorporating the PIN number but Internet shopping with goods paid for by credit card is also vulnerable to abuse. One way to counteract this is through digital money whereby coins and notes can be "bought" from a bank and stored on a computer enabling electronic payments to be made with customers enjoying improved protection against fraud since the seller can only obtain the cash from a bank.
The introduction of the euro has led to fears that this could lead to new avenues for counterfeiting. MEPs this month approved measures to get tough on this kind of crossfrontier fraud through tightening legislation, improving co-operation and taking action to deal with electronic transfers, another area subject to criminal action. Awareness raising exercises and increased staff training schemes are planned to coincide with the launch of the new currency.