The survey of 800 companies was carried out by Experian, an
international credit and business information company. Experian
said that a fifth of on-line retailers experience fraud amounting
to more than 1% of their sales. However, some firms find that up to
10% of their sales are fraudulent. The worst affected sectors are
software, electrical goods and ticket sales. 40% of companies
admitted being struck by the same fraudster several times.
Experian said that many on-line retailers fail to carry out
basic checks on buyers, like examining whether the address of a
credit card holder matches the delivery address.
Fraudulent cases are normally detected only when card holders
receive account statements and query charges, meaning a delay of
some weeks during which the fraudster can strike several times
without detection.
Richard Fiddis of Experian said: “In effect, the internet is
becoming the first choice for thieves that, in another age, might
have just been petty shoplifters or locker room pick-pockets.”
Card owners rarely have to pay more than the first £50 of any
fraudulent activity on their card; it is the retailers that are
often required by a bank to pay the full cost. Card issuers
Mastercard and Visa are introducing new controls to demand more
authentication of users before approving purchases on-line.
