Increased fraud threats may eventually inhibit investment from major brands in their Irish operations, a senior executive with a multinational based here has warned.

Matthieu Chapelle, billing manager with games publisher Gala Networks, said: “It could affect expansion or investment from Irish-based businesses. One reason is that fraud is done using credit card payments, and the credit card providers’ rules in regards to what we call ‘chargeback’ for the fraudulent payment are very, very tough.”

Chargeback refers to the return of funds by a bank to a consumer after they’ve been the victim of fraud.

Mr Chapelle noted online games companies like Gala are particularly at risk due to the ease of setting up an account with online providers. He made his comments at the Merchant Risk Council spring congress, which ended in Dublin yesterday.