The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) revealed it has thwarted over a million cases of suspected payment card fraud in the past year, according to the organisation's third Annual Review. The NCSC's latest figures also revealed it dealt with 658 UK cyber-attacks during the past twelve months – taking the total to more than 1,800 over three years. Payment fraud, which historically has been driven by card cloning, has since mitigated towards transactions where the card does not need to be present, such as purchases online. Head of artificial intelligence at SAS UK & Ireland, Caroline Hermon, commented: "The rapid expansion of payment services over the last few years has led to consumer demands for convenience and flexibility with new payment methods. "Banks and other financial institutions are aware that they must meet these demands, but they are also aware that these new payment systems leave them open to new forms of fraud.