Credit card fraud in the European Union increased by 50% last year.

Much of the increase involves payments made over the internet or the telephone, and could hit consumer confidence in e-commerce. The European Commission says it is determined to stop the fraud, which accounted for 600 million euros ($553m) in illegal transactions in Europe last year. An EU spokesman said that while e-commerce sales were buoyant, their potential was "inhibited by lack of confidence in the privacy and security of payment transactions performed over the internet". Recent data has shown that internet transactions represent only 2% of all credit card usage, but account for half of customer complaints The anonymity of the internet enables criminals to make cross-border purchases with stolen credit card details at relatively little risk of being caught. On Monday, the Commission launched a three-year plan to tackle credit card fraud. The plan includes a new toll-free number across Europe for consumers who have lost their credit cards or been online fraud victims. New technical measures are also being developed to prevent fraud, such as electronic chips in credit cards. Major payment organisations such as Visa, American Express and MasterCard have already started working together to raise security standards on the Internet.