Ecommerce fraud attack rate rose 30 percent, report finds

According to the most recent data report, there were 16.6 million reported victims of identity fraud in the US. The rise of ecommerce fraud can be viewed as the last stop on the larger fraud timeline, which often starts with a data breach. The uptick in data breaches, already 278 incidents in 2018, and the increased presence of the dark web marketplace have made personal information more accessible to criminals; that, in turn, makes it easier for fraudsters to access legitimate online accounts.

Experian says that online shopping fraud “rose dramatically” in 2017 in two specific categories: shipping fraud and billing fraud. Shipping fraud occurs when a criminal uses their address for the delivery of stolen goods purchased online. Rates of shipping fraud increased 37% in 2017 versus 2016. From a regional perspective, the Western US saw a nearly 60% increase in attack rates for shipping fraud.”

Billing fraud is when the victim’s address is tied to the payment account used to purchase the stolen goods; those rates increased 34%. The North Central region saw a 50% increase in attack rates for billing fraud.

Matt Tatham, manager of content insights and data analyst at Experian said that Venezuela would have been the riskiest IP country if it weren’t for the fact they have a 60% lower volume of online transactions compared to China.