Terbium Labs has released a new report that sheds light on the link between payment card fraud and other illegal activities such as drug trafficking, money laundering, human trafficking and terrorism.

The study, which is based on 274 cases of payment card fraud in North America and Europe, found that total losses resulting from the analyzed cases exceeded $1bn. Payment card fraud in North America is most often connected to identity fraud (33%), organized crime (32.5%), human trafficking (17.5%) and drug trafficking (15%). In Europe, payment card fraud mostly occurs in relation to organized crime (62%), drug trafficking (41%) and money laundering (41%). 8% of fraud cases in North America were linked to terrorism. The number for Europe was seven times lower.

Read more: Payment Fraud Linked to Terrorism and Trafficking