Payments fraud classed as "card not present" has increased by more than 50 per cent over two years and by more than 20 per cent over the last year, the latest compilation of data by the Australian Payments Clearing Association shows.APCA's periodic report on the topic, released yesterday, is more discursive than its predecessors and to that extent an acknowledgement of the bad news it highlights.Of the A$1.92 trillion Australians spent on cheques and cards in 2015, 0.025 per cent or $469 million worth of transactions were fraudulent, APCA said.APCA said Australia's "rate of card fraud increased from 58.8 cents in 2014 to 66.8 cents per $1000 spent, driven by a 21 per cent increase in card not present fraud."In a media release, APCA said the increase in card fraud was "in line with global trends; card fraud in the UK increased from 75 pence in 2014 to 83 pence per £1000 in 2015."CNP fraud - domestically and overseas - now accounts for 79 per cent of all Australian card fraud by value, up from 77 per cent in 2014.The languid pace of industry reform in the United States is one locus of blame.APCA's acting chief executive Andy White said in the media release: "As the US progressively rolls-out chip technology, criminals are targeting those terminals that are still magnetic stripe only and Australian cards have been caught up in this fraud."White added that "large scale data breaches are also contributing to the growing level of online card fraud." Domestic mischief is also part of the story.On Australian cards used domestically CNP fraud increased by 38 per cent to $136.7 million. APCA said.On the other hand counterfeit and skimming fraud - a more prominent problem some years ago - dropped by ten per cent to $22.9 million.