Organised plastic counterfeiting

It is extremely difficult to establish the nature and extent of organized crime.

However this report proves counterfeiting of plastic payment cards is an organized criminal enterprise which crosses national boundaries and affects Canada, Europe, the Far East and the United States. Organized criminals systematically manipulate any commodity which enables them to make significant profits.

In this instance, the commodity is "plastic" and the report gives a valuable and extensive insight into the organization and methodology used by particular criminals to attack the card payment system.

Having established the nature and extent of the problem, the report identifies a comprehensive strategy to reduce the impact of plastic counterfeiting and disrupt organized criminal enterprises.

The key to achieving these objectives is the establishment of a meaningful partnership between the industry, merchants and law enforcement agencies. The report provides the knowledge to enable policy makers in government, international institutions, law enforcement agencies, security printers and, most importantly, the plastic card payment system, to decide the most appropriate response to a threat which has the potential to seriously damage the credibility of the system.