Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, with reference to (TfL Ref: 2999-1819), I would like to know: 1. How many incidents involving payment card fraud (including contactless) have been recorded on the railway network owned/operated by, or branded by, TfL. Please can figures be broken down into the time frames as below, all dates inclusive. Also could it be broken into incidents of payment card fraud recorded via the following channels: Self-service ticket machines, Ticket Office ticket machines, Online and Contactless as in the previous FOI (TfL Ref: 2999-1819) • 01/01/2019 – 31/12/2019 • 01/01/2018 – 31/12/2018 • 01/01/2017 – 31/12/2017 • 01/01/2016 – 31/12/2016 • 01/01/2015 – 31/12/2015 • 01/01/2014 – 31/12/2014 2. How many incidents involving payment card fraud were sent to Action Fraud or the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau 3. How many incidents involving payment card fraud were sent to the British Transport Police 4. If recorded, please can you provide an average loss per incident per year and a total loss for each year

---

TfL Ref: FOI-3706-1920

Thank you for your email received by Transport for London (TfL) on 27 February 2020.

Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy.  I can confirm we do hold the information you require. You asked:

1. How many incidents involving payment card fraud (including contactless) have been recorded on the railway network owned/operated by, or branded by, TfL.

Please can figures be broken down into the time frames as below, all dates inclusive. Also could it be broken into incidents of payment card fraud recorded via the following channels: Self-service ticket machines, Ticket Office ticket machines, Online and Contactless as in the previous FOI (TfL Ref: 2999-1819)

• 01/01/2019 – 31/12/2019

   

• 01/01/2018 – 31/12/2018

   

• 01/01/2017 – 31/12/2017

   

• 01/01/2016 – 31/12/2016

   

• 01/01/2015 – 31/12/2015

   

• 01/01/2014 – 31/12/2014

Please see the 2019 data in the table below.

It shows the number of incidents of payment card fraud recorded on the following channels: Self-service ticket machines, Ticket Office ticket machines, Online and Contactless.

It shows incidents of Visa, Maestro (debit) and Mastercard payment card fraud, which is reported to TfL by Barclaycard, our merchant acquirer. We do not receive relevant data of this type from American Express to be able to answer this request, so the table does not include payment card fraud for American Express cards.

Please note that none of these values represent a loss to TfL, they are covered by the card issuer and the individual charges behind the amounts stated below are reimbursed to affected customers (subject to discussions between the customer and their card issuer).

For awareness, during 2019, around three million journeys were made every day using pay as you go with Contactless.

Date Period	Self-service ticket machine incidents	Ticket office ticket machine incidents	Online incidents	Contactless incidents	Total incidents
01/01/2019 - 31/12/2019	3,553 incidents. Total value £281,227. Average loss per incident £79.15	61 incidents. Total value £9,936. Average loss per incident £162.89	2,096 incidents. Total value £57,896. Average loss per incident £27.62	78,790 incidents. Total value £305,019. Average loss per incident £3.87	84,500

The data for the rest of the years is available to you in the published response that you quoted on our website at   https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/transparency/freedom-of-information/foi-request-detail?referenceId=FOI-2999-1819

In accordance with section 21 of the FOI Act, we are not obliged to supply you with a copy of the requested information as it is already accessible to you elsewhere.

1. How many incidents involving payment card fraud were sent to Action Fraud or the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau

We have no record of such cases being sent to Action Fraud or the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau.

1. How many incidents involving payment card fraud were sent to the British Transport Police

We have no record of such cases being sent to the British Transport Police.

1. If recorded, please can you provide an average loss per incident per year and a total loss for each year

Please see the table above.

We adopt a zero-tolerance approach to any fraud and have robust controls in place to prevent and detect it. Our team of 450 revenue inspectors operate across our network day and night to stop illegal activity. Working with the BTP, we push for the strongest possible sentences for those who break the law.

The Government has announced a series of measures to tackle the Coronavirus. It is essential for London, and in particular for all critical workers, that we continue to provide a safe transport network that enables them to make the journeys they need to.

In current circumstances, we are not able to answer FOI requests readily and we ask that you please do not make a request to us at present.

Answering FOI requests will require the use of limited resources and the attention of staff who could be supporting other essential activity. In any event, please note that our response time will be affected by the current situation.

Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.

Yours sincerely

Eva Hextall

FOI Case Officer

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

Back to top

---