Fraud fears over 'tap and go'

Victoria Police have called for a ban on credit card "tap- and-go" technology, blaming it for a 47 per cent surge in fraud- related offences in the past 12 months.

And WA Police confirmed last night they were also monitoring the situation amid concerns card holders were becoming a target for criminals here.

Tap-and-go technology allows anyone who gets their hands on a credit card to make purchases up to $100 at a time without having to provide a personal identification number or a signature.

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Ken Lay told ABC radio yesterday that the technology had led to a jump in other crimes such as handbag snatches, burglaries and mail thefts committed by criminals looking for cards.

"As a customer, they're very, very handy, but for a criminal . . . also very handy," he said.

WA Police do not have statistics on how big a problem card theft and fraud has become here. But there is anecdotal evidence people are being targeted just for their cards.

There were recent examples of tap-and-go-related fraud recorded on the police Facebook page yesterday.

In one case, a young woman was said to have stolen a purse from another woman at a Kardinya shopping centre.

The victim chased the offender who eventually threw the purse away but not before removing her credit card.

In a short time, $600 in fraudulent transactions had been made using the card.

"WA Police is aware of this potential issue and we are currently monitoring crime trends in WA to establish whether or not the same trends are being seen here," Assistant Commissioner Gary Budge said.

But the Australian Bankers Association denied tap-and-go was a significant problem.

It said credit card fraud losses had fallen from $279 million to $245 million since 2012.