Reports: Fraud a concern for merchants, brands
Kristina Knight, 20 May 2021
Online payment fraud could cost online merchants as much as $20 billion in 2021. That is a key takeaway from new Juniper Research data which predicts that the influx of inexperience digital shoppers during the pandemic could cause ecommerce fraud to skyrocket from $17.5 billion 2020 to more than $20 billion this year.
That would be an increase of about 18% YoY, much brought about by fraudsters who are targeting consumers who aren’t as savvy at protecting their financial information in the digital space. To staunch the flow – and to protect their shoppers, Juniper’s experts believe digital merchants must up their fraud prevention strategies across the ecommerce space, utilizing AI to spot potential fraudsters before damage can be done.
Juniper’s researchers have developed an online guide to help retailers fight online payment fraud. It can be accessed here.
“A wave of inexperienced consumers began digital shopping, banking, and payments in 2020, creating an irresistible pool of victims for fraudsters to attack. We expect that trend to continue through 2021,” said Andy Renshaw, VP of payment strategy & solutions, Feedzai. “With more people doing business online, fraudsters simply have more opportunity to steal data and commit fraud. Our own research showed that 70% of all fraud was driven by card-not-present transactions in 2020–meaning online transactions make up the vast majority of fraudulent activity, driving this expected $20B impact. In order to curb the rise in fraud, we need both consumers and financial institutions to increase their vigilance for fraud, get educated on safe online practices, and invest in technology to fight financial crime.”
