Survey Shows Huge Fraudster E-Commerce Gains in 2007

Mountain View, Calif., According to the ninth-annual CyberSource survey of e-commerce fraud, merchants are spending more to contain fraud, and dollar losses from e-commerce fraud are continuing to grow. Fraudsters will divert approximately $3.6 billion from U.S. e-commerce in 2007, a 20% increase over 2006, said the report.

The findings also revealed that the percent of revenue merchants say they will lose to fraud remained stable over 2006 and 2007 (1.4% both years), but because e-commerce sales continue to grow, dollar losses to U.S. e-commerce grow proportionately.

“E-commerce in the U.S. today is a highly rewarding channel that is showing vigorous growth,” said Doug Schwegman, CyberSource director of customer and market intelligence. “But it’s also a channel with meaningful challenges posed by systematic fraud. Merchants did see their online sales grow approximately 20%, but the costs of managing fraud grew a nearly identical amount. The picture is one of merchants swimming harder against an accelerating current.”