Credit Card Fraud Statistics 2026: Losses, Trends, and Prevention

Global payment card fraud losses reached $33.83 billion in 2023, up 1.1% from $33.45 billion in 2022, according to The Nilson Report. The loss rate per $100 of card volume fell from 6.81¢ to 6.58¢ that year, with the United States accounting for 25.29% of global card spending but 42.32% of global card fraud losses. The numbers tell two stories at once: card networks are getting better at fraud control on a per-dollar basis, yet absolute losses keep climbing because spending climbs faster.

Inside the US consumer-report channel, the Federal Trade Commission logged more than $12.5 billion in total fraud losses in 2024, a 25% jump over 2023, across 2.6 million fraud reports. Credit cards and payment apps were among the most commonly used payment methods behind those scams, accounting for $736.9 million in reported losses. Nilson’s $33.83 billion (2023, worldwide) and the FTC’s $736.9 million (2024, US consumer reports) cover different years and scopes; together they suggest most card fraud is absorbed by issuers and merchants and never reaches consumer-report channels.

Key Takeaways

• Global payment credit card fraud losses hit $33.83 billion in 2023, up 1.1% from $33.45 billion in 2022 per the Nilson Report, even as the per-$100 loss rate slipped to 6.58¢.
• The United States generates about 25.3% of global card spending but absorbs 42.3% of global card fraud losses, per the Nilson Report’s 2023 tally.
• US consumers reported more than $12.5 billion lost to fraud across all categories in 2024, a 25% year-over-year jump driven by higher per-victim losses, not more reports, per the Federal Trade Commission.
• Credit cards and payment apps accounted for $736.9 million in reported FTC scam losses in 2024, among the most commonly used payment methods in scams reaching consumer-report channels.
• The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center received 1,008,597 complaints in 2025 (up from 859,532 in 2024), with cyber-enabled fraud losses exceeding $17.7 billion.
• UK card fraud losses reached £572.6 million in 2024, with remote purchase fraud case numbers increasing to nearly 2.6 million events.
• Card-not-present fraud rates surpassed card-present rates across both US debit network types in 2023, a structural shift the EMV chip rollout could not reverse since 2015.

Editor’s Choice

• Worldwide payment card fraud losses are projected to total $403.88 billion cumulatively over the next 10 years, per Nilson Report forecasts.
• Cyber-enabled crimes defrauded Americans of nearly $21 billion in 2025, according to the FBI’s 2025 Internet Crime Report.
• Americans age 60 and older reported approximately $7.7 billion in losses in 2025, up 37% from 2024.
• Every $1 of fraud now costs US merchants $4.61 in downstream expenses (chargebacks, fees, lost merchandise, operations), per the LexisNexis True Cost of Fraud 2025.
• US merchants paid 49.9% of debit card fraud losses in 2023, up from 46.9% in 2021; the burden has shifted onto retailers.
• The FBI’s IC3 receives nearly 3,000 complaints per day as of 2025.

Global Card Fraud Losses by Region

• The worldwide payment card fraud bill came to $33.83 billion in 2023, the highest total on record.
• That sum was up 1.1% year-over-year from $33.45 billion in 2022.
• The US share of those losses sat at 42.32%, vastly larger than the US share of global card spending (25.29%).
• The aggregate fraud loss rate worldwide eased to 6.58¢ per $100 of card volume in 2023 from 6.81¢ in 2022.
• Industry forecasts call for cumulative losses of $403.88 billion over the decade ending in 2034.

Source: The Nilson Report, January 2025 issue.

The Nilson Report’s 2023 reading shows the United States carrying outsized share: 25.29% of global card spending against 42.32% of global card fraud losses. That works out to a roughly 1.67x over-index reflecting both the depth of US card adoption and the scale of US-issued cards exposed to online merchants worldwide. Cumulative card fraud losses are projected to total $403.88 billion worldwide over the next ten years.

Citation Capsule: Payment card fraud losses worldwide reached $33.83 billion in 2023, with the United States accounting for 42.32% of global losses despite generating just 25.29% of global card spending; the Nilson Report projects another $403.88 billion in cumulative worldwide losses over the next decade.

US Consumer Fraud Losses Reported to the FTC

• Total fraud losses reported to the FTC hit $12.5 billion in 2024, a 25% year-over-year increase.
• The number of US consumers who reported fraud held steady at 2.6 million in 2024, almost identical to 2023.
• The proportion of fraud reporters who lost money jumped from 27% in 2023 to 38% in 2024.
• The largest reported loss category was investment scams at $5.7 billion (up 24% YoY).
• Credit cards and payment apps accounted for $736.9 million of those reported losses, the most-used payment method in scams.
• Identity theft reports totaled more than 1.1 million through IdentityTheft.gov in 2024.

Source: Federal Trade Commission, “New FTC Data Show a Big Jump in Reported Losses to Fraud,” March 10, 2025.

According to the FTC, the 2024 total of more than $12.5 billion in reported fraud losses was not driven by more reports; the volume held stable at 2.6 million. Instead, the share of fraud reporters who said they lost money rose from 27% in 2023 to 38% in 2024, a per-victim severity shift. Cards and payment apps stayed the most-named payment method, which lines up with our coverage pattern: fraud follows wherever consumers store their primary payment credentials.

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Recent Developments

• April 2026: the FBI released its 2025 Internet Crime Report showing 1,008,597 total complaints and approximately $20.9 billion in cyber-enabled losses, with cryptocurrency-related losses topping $11 billion.
• April 2026: the AARP summarized that preliminary FTC Consumer Sentinel data for 2025 showed reported fraud losses of $15.9 billion, up from $12.5 billion in 2024, a record annual total.
• February 2026: the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City published an updated debit-card fraud-rate briefing using Federal Reserve Board data through 2023, showing card-not-present fraud rates rising for dual-message networks while card-present rates declined.
• December 2025: the Federal Reserve Board released its 2023 biennial debit-card transactions report, the underlying data behind the Kansas City Fed analysis.
• May 2025: UK Finance published its Annual Fraud Report 2025 (covering 2024 data), reporting £572.6 million in UK card fraud losses for the year, a 4% rise.
• April 2025: LexisNexis Risk Solutions released the 2025 True Cost of Fraud Study showing US merchants now spend $4.61 for every $1 of fraud loss incurred.
• March 2025: the FTC published the Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book 2024, the source for the $12.5 billion headline.
• January 2025: the Nilson Report (Issue 1276) released calendar-year 2023 global card fraud figures: $33.83 billion in losses, $403.88 billion projected cumulative over the next decade.

Card-Not-Present vs Card-Present Fraud Rates

• Card-present fraud rates have started to fall on US dual-message networks (Visa, Mastercard), the counterfeit fraud rate dropped 0.9 basis points from 2021 to 2023.
• That same metric rose 0.5 basis points on single-message debit networks (STAR, NYCE, Pulse) over 2021-2023.
• In 2023, the counterfeit fraud rate on dual-message networks sat at 8.0 basis points vs 2.2 basis points on single-message networks.
• Card-not-present fraud rates climbed for dual-message networks 2021-2023, almost offsetting the 2019-2021 decline.
• Card-not-present fraud rates on single-message networks rose more than 10 basis points from 2021 to 2023.
• US card-not-present fraud rates exceeded peer geographies in 2023. Australia logged 19.2 basis points, the European Economic Area 10.3 basis points.

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, “New Data on Card-Present and Card-Not-Present Fraud Rates in the United States,” February 25, 2026 (Hayashi, 2026).

The US payments industry migrated to EMV chip-card technology in 2015 with the aim of mitigating card-present fraud, yet payment card fraud has continued to climb since. From 2021 to 2023, the counterfeit fraud rate declined for dual-message networks by 0.9 basis points but increased for single-message networks by 0.5 basis points.

The card-not-present fraud rate for single-message networks rose by more than 10 basis points from 2021 to 2023. The result is a structural shift in the post-EMV picture: chip cards worked at the terminal, but fraud followed cardholders into e-commerce.

UK Card Fraud Trends (UK Finance Data)

• UK criminals stole £1.17 billion through unauthorised plus authorised fraud in 2024, broadly unchanged from 2023.
• UK card fraud losses on UK-issued cards reached £572.6 million in 2024, a 4% rise from £551.3 million in 2023.
• Total unauthorised fraud cases rose 14% to 3.13 million events in 2024.
• Remote purchase fraud (card details used online or by phone) drove the increase: cases up 22% to nearly 2.6 million, losses up 11% to just under £400 million.
• Card ID theft losses fell 26% to £58.7 million as case volumes dropped 23% to just over 109,000.
• Contactless card fraud losses fell 1% in 2024, the first decline since 2020.
• UK banks prevented £1.45 billion of unauthorised fraud in 2024, equivalent to 67p in every £1 of attempted fraud.

UK Finance reported that criminals stole £1.17 billion through unauthorised and authorised fraud in 2024, broadly unchanged from 2023. There were 3.13 million confirmed cases of unauthorised fraud reported in 2024, with losses totalling £722 million.

Remote purchase fraud case numbers increased to nearly 2.6 million in 2024, with losses landing just under £400 million. UK banks prevented £1.45 billion of unauthorised fraud in 2024, equivalent to 67p in every £1 of attempted fraud.

Citation Capsule: UK Finance found that card ID theft losses fell 26 per cent to £58.7 million in 2024, and contactless fraud losses decreased by one per cent, the first contactless-fraud decline since 2020, even as remote purchase fraud cases rose to nearly 2.6 million events. The contrast underlines that present-card fraud is contracting while online-purchase fraud expands.

Who Pays for Card Fraud (Loss Allocation)

• US merchants paid 49.9% of debit card fraud losses in 2023, up from 46.9% in 2021.
• Issuing banks paid a smaller share, 28.3% in 2023, down from 33.4% in 2021.
• Cardholders absorbed the remainder, mostly outside the legally protected fraud zone.
• The card-not-present fraud loss rate increase from 2021 to 2023 hit merchants hardest (+1.1 basis points) and cardholders next (+0.3 basis points), while issuers actually saw the loss rate decline (-0.1 basis points).
• Every $1 of fraud now costs US merchants $4.61 in downstream expenses (chargebacks, fees, lost merchandise, operations), per LexisNexis True Cost of Fraud 2025.
• Canadian merchants face a similar multiplier, $4.52 for every $1 of fraud loss incurred.
• Mobile transactions account for 33% of fraud costs for US merchants and 41% for Canadian merchants.

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City briefing (February 2026); LexisNexis Risk Solutions, 2025 True Cost of Fraud Study (April 2025).

From 2021 to 2023, the fraud loss rate increased by 1.1 basis points for merchants and 0.3 basis points for cardholders but declined by 0.1 basis points for issuers. The LexisNexis True Cost of Fraud Study found that fraud costs merchants in the United States $4.61 for every $1 of fraud incurred.

Within US ecommerce, online purchases represent 53% of digital fraud costs while mobile channels account for 30%. The merchant-burden shift changes the incentive map: when issuers paid most of the bill, prevention spend sat at the issuer; as merchants shoulder more, the spend moves to the checkout layer.

Internet Crime and Cyber-Enabled Fraud (FBI IC3)

• The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center received 1,008,597 total complaints in 2025, up from 859,532 in 2024.
• Total reported losses for 2025 hit $20.9 billion in cyber-enabled crime, a 26% annual increase.
• IC3 receives nearly 3,000 complaints per day as of 2025.
• The IC3 logged approximately 453,000 cyber-enabled fraud complaints with reported losses exceeding $17.7 billion in 2025.
• Investment fraud drove nearly 49% of all scam-related losses.
• Cryptocurrency-related complaints (181,565) accounted for more than $11 billion in losses, the highest single category.
• AI-related fraud appeared in the IC3 report for the first time: 22,364 complaints costing nearly $893 million.

The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center received 1,008,597 total complaints in 2025, an increase from 859,532 in 2024, with cyber-enabled crimes defrauding Americans of nearly $21 billion. Approximately 453,000 cyber-enabled fraud complaints generated reported losses exceeding $17.7 billion, with investment fraud accounting for nearly 49% of all scam-related losses. Americans who submitted complaints involving cryptocurrency reported the highest losses, with 181,565 complaints totaling more than $11 billion.

The IC3 picture overlaps but does not duplicate FTC Consumer Sentinel coverage. As cross-agency coverage notes, the FBI’s IC3 captured $20.9 billion in 2025 internet crime losses while the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel documented $15.9 billion across approximately 3 million complaints; the FTC focuses on broader consumer scams while IC3 specializes in internet-based crimes. Reading the two reports side-by-side is the cleanest way to see the scale: a single victim of crypto-investment fraud often shows up in both datasets, but the methodologies count different windows of the same loss.

Demographic and Channel Patterns

• Americans 60 and older reported approximately $7.7 billion in losses in 2025, up about 37% from 2024.
• For older Americans, the rise was driven heavily by investment scams paid in cryptocurrency.
• The FTC Sentinel logged 6.5 million reports in 2024 across all categories: fraud, identity theft, and credit-bureau complaints.
• Mobile transactions account for 33% of fraud expenses for US merchants.
• Online purchases represent 53% of US ecommerce digital fraud costs, with mobile channels at 30%.
• The share of fraud reporters who lost money rose from 27% to 38% between 2023 and 2024, a sharp severity shift.

The two halves of the demographic story tell the channel story: older Americans absorb the cryptocurrency-investment-scam losses while merchants absorb the mobile and ecommerce share through the checkout layer.

How does credit card fraud differ from broader digital payments fraud?

Credit card fraud is one slice of the broader payment-card fraud picture: the Nilson Report’s $33.83 billion 2023 figure covers payment card fraud losses worldwide. Card fraud sits inside a broader unauthorised payments fraud surface, with UK Finance’s total unauthorised fraud at £722 million in 2024 against £572.6 million from card-only fraud. Broader digital payments fraud also includes account-to-account transfers and authorised push payment fraud, where card protections do not apply.

Are EMV chip cards still helping reduce US card fraud?

The latest Federal Reserve research shows mixed results: counterfeit card-present fraud declined for dual-message networks from 2021 to 2023 by 0.9 basis points, validating part of the EMV rollout thesis, while card-not-present fraud rates climbed during the same window. Our read: EMV chips helped reduce in-store counterfeit risk where they were designed to, but they did not address the channel, online checkout, where most fraud now lives. US card-not-present fraud rates in 2023 exceeded peer geographies like Australia (19.2 basis points) and the European Economic Area (10.3 basis points).

Who pays when a fraudulent credit card transaction goes through?

Federal law caps US cardholder liability for unauthorised credit-card use at $50, so most fraud cost lands on issuers (via chargebacks back to acquirers and merchants) or directly on merchants who fail card-network rules. Each dollar of fraud costs US merchants $4.61 in downstream expenses, per LexisNexis.

How Cardholders Can Help Reduce Card Fraud Exposure

• Enable real-time transaction alerts in the issuer’s app, the fastest signal of unauthorised charges.
• Use card-network virtual numbers or single-use card numbers for unfamiliar online merchants.
• Monitor the IdentityTheft.gov dashboard; 1.1 million+ reports of identity theft moved through that channel in 2024.
• Treat unsolicited contact requesting card details as a fraud signal.
• For debit card fraud, the protective shield is weaker than credit (debit cardholders bear more residual risk depending on report timing); separate exposure where possible.
• Cross-check exposure with insurance carriers if linked-card billing is involved in a broader identity-theft event.

None of these steps stop fraud at the network level; that is, issuer, merchant, and processor work; but they reduce the window between a compromised card and a flagged transaction.

Conclusion

Credit card fraud now sits at the intersection of two opposing forces: absolute losses climbed (Nilson’s 2023 total of $33.83 billion is up from $33.45 billion in 2022) even as the per-$100 rate fell (6.58¢ in 2023 versus 6.81¢ in 2022). The Nilson Report projects $403.88 billion in cumulative worldwide card fraud losses over the next decade.

Within the U.S. payments industry, card-not-present fraud rates climbed for both major US debit network types from 2021 to 2023 while card-present counterfeit rates declined for dual-message networks. The next two years will likely be defined by how aggressively merchants and issuers split fraud-prevention spending now that US merchants carry close to half of debit-card fraud losses. Per AARP’s coverage of cross-agency 2025 totals, the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel data found reported fraud losses of $15.9 billion in 2025, up from $12.5 billion in 2024.