Prevent Fraud in Online Shopping

Prevent fraud in online shopping is a major problem for both shoppers and merchants. Fraudsters use a variety of methods to gain access to customer and business information, including credit card details, passwords, account logins, and more. When they succeed, it can lead to serious losses for both parties and damage a brand’s reputation. In the US alone, a recent MRC report estimated that ecommerce fraud resulted in losses of $38 billion during 2023.

Prevent Fraud in Online Shopping: Protect Your Business

Detecting online shopping scams can be difficult, especially for a non-technical shopper. However, there are several easy steps that consumers can take to stay safe. Use a credit card rather than a debit card when shopping online as credit cards offer increased security features like EMV chips, and more secure encryption. Avoid websites that offer rock bottom prices, free products with purchase, or suspicious URLs as these may be fraudulent sites created by cybercriminals.

Also, be wary of unusually high order quantities, multiple orders with a low value each, and shipping to different addresses as these could all be red flags for fraudulent activity. Another common tactic is for fraudsters to impersonate customer service agents and contact shoppers to claim their packages are unable to be delivered or that they have to pay a fee or tax to receive their goods. To prevent this, ecommerce retailers can set up monitoring systems to identify these anomalous activities and flag them for further investigation. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are increasingly being used to identify these types of anomalies, helping to reduce reliance on manual review and rule-based systems.