Online retailers fight "recession fraud"

A survey conducted by Vanson Bourne indicates that online retailers are fighting back against the increased threat of "recession fraud".

The research conducted on behalf of SPSS, a predictive analytics software provider, shows that 37% of online businesses had implemented new measures such as customer behaviour analysis, restricting purchases from "high risk" locations or countries and reducing the number of payment methods available, to help reduce online payment fraud.

The 2009 UK Online Fraud Report estimates that UK online retailers lost up to 5% of total revenues to fraud in 2008, however, while retail sales on the high street are declining, online sales are increasing (up 14% in December 2008 compared to the previous year), so retailers cannot afford to be complacent about fraud.

One in four retailers surveyed by Vanson Bourne indicated they are using customer analytics, which focus on unusual behaviour patterns, to detect fraud. Eighteen percent said they had also reduced the number of payment methods in the belief that it reduced the opportunities for fraudsters.