In Germany, 94 percent of online shops have already been confronted with fraud or attempted fraud (Austria: 64 percent; Switzerland 86 percent). A current CRIF survey shows that online fraud in the DACH region has been at a consistently high level for years. If you look at developments over the last 12 months, the risk of fraud has increased further for a total of 62 percent of the German e-commerce companies surveyed. For 35 percent of the shops, the development of fraud cases in Germany remained the same at a high level, only three percent recorded fewer fraud cases than in the previous year. These are the central results of the “Fraud in E-Commerce” study by the information service provider CRIF, for which a total of almost 230 online shops in the DACH region were surveyed.

Identity fraud is number 1

According to the CRIF survey, the most common fraudulent practice in Germany is so-called identity theft. 92 percent of e-commerce companies have already been confronted with a customer pretending to be a completely different real person.

In addition, 81 percent of German e-commerce companies stated that they had already had experience with attempted fraud by “providing fake name and/or address data”.

62 percent of traders were affected by so-called entry fraud. This form of fraud refers to an ordering process in which the buyer knows in advance that he cannot or will not pay the invoice, but the goods are still transferred from the dealer to the customer. 46 percent of incidents can be traced back to stolen payment data (e.g. credit cards).

“Fraud prevention in online shops is becoming increasingly important. Anyone who has an online shop must expect to become a victim of fraud. There are now hardly any online retailers who have not been cheated at some point and therefore suffered financial losses due to organized fraud. The fraudsters’ methods are becoming more and more professional,” comments Dr. Frank Schlein, Managing Director of CRIF Germany, the current survey results.

Anyone who has an online shop must expect to become a victim of fraud.”

Dr. Frank Schlein, Managing Director of CRIF Germany

Over 20 percent of shops in Germany with damages exceeding 100,000 euros

The impact of these fraudulent activities can take different forms. The most important effects of fraud on companies are reputational damage, legal costs and direct financial damage. For the majority (65 percent) of the German companies surveyed, the highest individual loss due to fraud was less than 5,000 euros.

However, one in five online shops stated that the average losses per claim were between 5,000 and 10,000 euros. In 13 percent of the shops, the individual damage due to fraud was over 25,000 euros.

When asked about the total amount of damage that occurred in the last twelve months, 34 percent of German online shops found it to be less than 10,000 euros. However, 43 percent of online retailers suffered a loss of between 10,000 and 100,000 euros in just one year. Almost 21 percent of online shops in Germany, more than one in five, are confronted with losses of over 100,000 euros per year.

Fraud prevention is becoming increasingly important

In order to effectively protect themselves against fraud, more and more online retailers are relying on special automated risk, identification and fraud solutions. According to the study, 83 percent of German online shops already carry out measures to detect fraud (Switzerland: 88 percent; Austria: 80 percent).

The measures used to detect fraud vary among the online retailers surveyed. In Germany, 80 percent of participants stated that they use a combination of manual and automated measures. In Switzerland, checking is primarily carried out manually (67 percent) and/or with our own blacklists (42 percent). Automated checks are common in Germany. These are either completely outsourced to external service providers (10 percent), carried out internally (45 percent) or at least partially outsourced to external service providers (45 percent).

“Online retail faces a variety of challenges in the area of ​​fraud prevention. Companies must develop innovative solutions to detect fraud, implement prevention strategies and respond effectively and appropriately to fraud cases. The continuous development and optimization of fraud prevention measures are crucial to permanently protect customers and companies in the future,” explains Dr. Frank Schlein.

About the study

The survey on the topic of “Fraud in E-Commerce” was carried out by CRIF between the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023 in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. 231 online and mail order retailers were surveyed using an online survey.

Source:

CRIF

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