TECH IN 10: ‘Dynamic CVC’ sees big dip in fraud

Fraudsters have been dealt a big blow by a digital card feature offered by Westpac known as the ‘dynamic CVC’, according to new analysis by the bank. 

“We're seeing that customers who use their dynamic CVC have an 80 per cent reduction in the subsequent fraud compared with customers who use only their static CVC,” says Ben Young, Westpac’s head of fraud and financial crime insights. 

Speaking in Westpac Wire’s latest Tech in 10 podcast, Young explains the dynamic CVC – which can be found by customers on their digital card in the mobile banking app – serves the same purpose as the three-digit code on the back of their physical card, only it changes every 24 hours. 

Listen to Ben Young in the latest Tech in 10 podcast 

The digital feature, introduced by the bank in 2020 and used by 10,000-plus customers every day, helps to reduce fraud by minimising the time a criminal can use stolen customer data, Young explains.

"Most card fraud comes from merchant shopping carts that have been compromised,” he says.

"A fraudster will go to the shopping cart and extract card numbers, they’ll then sell those card numbers on the dark web to people who try to make purchases later on, often many weeks or months after the initial transaction. 

“In that time, in the case of people who have shopped using the dynamic CVC, it will have long since changed many times over so the subsequent attempt to make purchases with those credentials will fail." 

This data is welcome news as the latest figures from AusPayNet shows fraud on payment card transactions increased overall by 9.2 per cent to more than $490 million in the year to end June 2021.