Home » Credit fraud: cases decrease but stolen amounts increase, a damage of almost 125 million

Credit fraud: cases decrease but stolen amounts increase, a damage of almost 125 million

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Credit fraud carried out through identity theft continues to have a non-negligible impact on Italian families, with the consequent illicit use of the personal and financial data of others to obtain credit or acquire assets, and with the premeditated intention not to repay the loan and not pay the good. The latest update of the Credit Fraud and Identity Theft Observatory carried out by CRIF-MisterCredit highlights that in 2020 in Italy there were over 21,800 cases detected for an estimated damage of almost 125 million euros. Compared to the previous year, the number of frauds is down sharply (-32.4%), reflecting the contraction in the disbursements of credit to families due to the health emergency. At the same time, however, the average amount defrauded has definitely increased (+ 21.8%), reaching around 5,650 euros, demonstrating the efficiency of criminal organizations.

“Credit fraud perpetrated through identity theft is a constantly evolving phenomenon, with criminal organizations making use of increasingly sophisticated techniques that the individual consumer is often unable to detect. – comments Beatrice Rubini, Director of the Mister Credit line of CRIF – After a constant growth that has characterized almost continuously the last decade, in 2020 there was a decrease in the number of cases, but only because the lockdown led to the closure of many commercial businesses for a few months and the sharp decline in financing transactions. However, it is absolutely not the case to let our guard down because, with the resumption of normal operations, credit fraud immediately started to grow again. Moreover, the acceleration in the use of payment cards, the more frequent use of e-commerce and the digitization of many processes can lead to an increase in risks and a new surge in cases ”.

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The latest update shows that, once again, the majority of victims are men (61.8% of cases). Looking at the distribution of fraud by age group, the group in which the largest percentage increase in cases is recorded in 2020 is that of the over 60s (+ 10.6%). Regarding the regions in which frauds have been detected, the breakdown of cases shows a higher incidence in Campania (with a weight of 13.1% of the total), albeit in the face of a contraction in the cases detected equal to -9.3%, which is matched by Lombardy (also at 13.1%) by virtue of an increase of + 3.7%.

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