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Study reports $57.8 billion in ecommerce fraud losses

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This post summarizes ecommerce fraud statistics in the press release published at 8:00 AM EDT on October 26, 2017.

BOSTON, Mass. –(October 26, 2017)– Account Takeover has replaced Stolen Financials as the fastest growing fraud threat for eCommerce websites in 2017. While still representing only a fraction of the volume of Stolen Financials, in Q2 2017 alone, Account Takeover fraud rose by an alarming 45 percent, putting online retailers at a loss of $3.3 billion dollars. PYMNTS and Signifyd have partnered to track, analyze and report on the recent changes in fraud by examining transactions of thousands of ecommerce merchants in North America, Asia and Europe in the October 2017 Global Fraud Index.

The index analyzes fraud attempts on eCommerce merchant websites, reflected as a percent of eCommerce sales transactions and what’s trending. The industries examined in the study include: alcohol, tobacco and cannabis; apparel; consumer electronics; cosmetics and perfumes; department stores; furniture, appliances and home improvement; health, leisure and hobbies; jewelry and precious metals. Additionally, the index takes a deep-dive on the state of fraud in Australia, where ecommerce business frauds are rising rapidly.

In terms of Merchant Fraud Prevention statistics, the fraud rate for transactions valued over $500 was over 22 times higher than for transactions valued under $100. Fraud rates for transactions exceeding $500 increased from 10.93 percent to 11.47 percent, while transactions under $500 showed an overall decrease in fraud rate.

As shown in the report, Account Takeover fraud had begun rising sharply months before the Equifax data breach was announced. But with the breach compromising the personal data of at least 143 million people (nearly 45 percent of American adults), the account takeover fraud trend is unlikely to come to an end any time soon. Deloitte, Sonic, Whole Foods, and even the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have suffered similar experiences in data breaches of unknown severity.

Global fraud index fast facts:

  • $57.8 billion: value of potential fraud in the eight industries examined in the Index.
  • 5.5 percent: increase in total fraud from Q2 2016 to Q2 2017.
  • 11.64 percent: fraud rate of transactions exceeding $500, 22 times higher than the rate of transactions worth less than $100.
  • 171.9 percent: increase in the rate of fraud in the cosmetics and perfumes industry.

Each index quantifies the rate and changes of fraud attempts on eCommerce merchants by examining different aspects of fraud. Some of these aspects include countries, regions and industries most seriously affected by fraud, as well as what action can be taken to stop or slow fraud trends.

To access the complete Global Fraud Index, please click here.

About PYMNTS:
PYMNTS is where the best minds and the best content meet on the web to learn about “What’s Next” in payments and commerce. Our interactive platform has reinvented the way that companies in payments, commerce and retail share relevant information about initiatives that make news and shape the future. Our data and analytics team includes economists, data scientists and industry analysts who work with companies to measure and quantify the cutting-edge innovation of this new and dynamic commerce ecosystem.

About Signifyd:
Signifyd was founded to make fraud-free ecommerce available to every business. Signifyd solves the challenges that growing eCommerce businesses persistently face: billions of dollars lost from chargeback fraud, customer dissatisfaction from mistaken declines, and operational costs due to tedious, manual transaction investigation. As the world’s largest provider of Guaranteed Fraud Protection, Signifyd provides a 100 percent financial guarantee against fraud and prevents chargebacks on every approved order. This effectively shifts the liability for fraud away from eCommerce merchants allowing them to increase sales and open new markets while reducing risk. Signifyd is in use by multiple companies on the Fortune 1000 and Internet Retailer Top 500 list. Signifyd is headquartered in San Jose, CA. For more information about Signifyd, please visit www.signifyd.com.

Contacts

PYMNTS
Alexander Terzian, +1 774-219-6132
[email protected]
or
Signifyd
Sourabh Kothari, +1 650-427-9784
[email protected]

Sourabh Kothari

Sourabh Kothari

Sourabh is the former Director of Merchant Advocacy at Signifyd, where he brought over 18 years of experience defining, designing and delivering content through stories, events and video.