E-commerce fraud is escalating with increasingly sophisticated tactics, particularly through the use of AI, causing significant financial and reputational damage. Yet merchants are adapting, adopting better dispute management and fraud detection strategies amid mounting internal and external pressures.
Ravelin’s Global Fraud Trends 2026 is the sixth edition of its annual fraud and payments survey report, drawing on responses from 1,504 professionals across 10 countries and four ecommerce sectors: Online Retail, Travel/Transport/Hospitality, Digital Goods & Subscriptions, and Online Marketplaces. The report examines the full spectrum of the consequences of fraud to merchants, current and emerging fraud trends, anti-fraud strategies, and forward-looking predictions for the evolving fraud landscape.
Here are some of the report’s key takeaways.
The line between customers and criminals is blurring
First-party fraud is no longer a side issue for merchants to manage quietly. 43% report a rise in consumer-initiated fraud, and merchants are now evenly split on whether professional criminals or abusive first parties pose the biggest threat to their business.
Fraudsters got there first
Fraudsters are adopting AI faster than the businesses trying to stop them. 67% of merchants report receiving AI-generated fake refund evidence, and AI-supported attacks now account for a meaningful share of fraud losses at many organisations.
Yet 30% of enterprises still use no AI or machine learning in their anti-fraud defences at all. Moreover, one in three respondents names AI as the single biggest fraud challenge for the year ahead, pointing to a real gap between the sophistication of the threat and the readiness of the response.
The cost of fraud keeps rising
An enterprise loses an average of USD 11.4 million to fraud every year, a 7.5% year-on-year increase. For more than 4 in 10 companies, the average loss to fraud now exceeds USD 10 million annually. Retail was something of an exception, with reported fraud costs slightly decreasing over the past year, though the broader trend across sectors points firmly upward.
Beyond direct losses, the reputational toll is just as significant. 81% of merchants agree customers distrust companies perceived to have weak fraud protection, and 64% report a direct stock price drop following fraud-related media coverage.
Refund abuse overtakes chargebacks
For the first time, refund abuse ranks above fraudulent chargebacks in negative business impact, a shift driven in part by the growing use of AI-generated false evidence to support fraudulent claims.
At the same time, merchants are getting sharper on the chargeback front. Successful dispute challenges rose to 62% in 2026, up from 43% the previous year, suggesting a more disciplined, evidence-led approach is starting to pay off.
Friction fear, not budget, is the real blocker
When asked why stronger fraud controls haven’t already been put in place, merchants didn’t point to cost. Fear of customer friction (29%) and brand image concerns (29%) ranked well above budget constraints (22%) as the top barriers to action.
This is the friction paradox at the centre of the report: merchants know they need stronger fraud controls but worry that tightening them will alienate legitimate customers faster than it stops fraudulent ones.
Trust in AI agents is rising
53% of merchants say they consider AI shopping agents more trustworthy than human shoppers. As agentic commerce expands, this points to a broader erosion of confidence in human buyers relative to automated ones.
What’s coming next?
Ravelin’s co-founders recommend developing new, supplementary metrics beyond chargebacks to more accurately quantify the total fraud attack surface. Existing fraud KPIs, chargeback rates chief among them, are increasingly seen as insufficient to capture the full scope of modern fraud, particularly refund abuse and policy abuse.
Merchants are also encouraged to treat fraud prevention as a company-wide priority, leverage it as a trust signal with customers, and work with fraud vendors to implement dynamic friction strategies that protect revenue without degrading customer experience.
Fraud in 2026 isn’t growing louder; it’s growing harder to see. The businesses that evolve their metrics and mindset alongside their tools will be best positioned to stay ahead of it.
Want to learn more? Download Ravelin's report, Global Fraud Trends 2026.
About the author
Paula Albu has experience in content writing and editing, as well as being a creative storyteller. As a Junior Editor at The Paypers, she investigates Web3 technologies along with the latest trends and regulations in banking and fintech. Paula is committed to turning complex industry topics into engaging, accessible content that resonates with readers and creates a meaningful connection. She is available via LinkedIn or at paula@thepaypers.com.
About Ravelin
AI-native fraud prevention company Ravelin provides technology and support that helps 340+ online companies prevent evolving fraud threats and accept payments with confidence. Combining machine learning, graph networks, behavioral analysis, consortium data, and expert rules, Ravelin has been empowering businesses to draw deeper insights from their data to detect ecommerce fraud and abuse, and increase payment acceptance for 12+ years. www.ravelin.com
