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eCommerce Lost £16 Million in Frauds During Lockdown

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The UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime has revealed new figures which show £16 million has been lost to eCommerce fraud during the Covid-19 lockdowns.

Action Fraud statistics show 16,352 people fell victim to online shopping and fraudsters steal £17m during lockdown. Since shops were forced to close due to the coronavirus outbreak, businesses are enforced to operate online only. Fraudsters took advantage of this situation and made their game strong.  Most of the victims were between 18 to 26 years of age and lived in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Liverpool, Bristol and Nottingham.

Ben Tuckwell, RSA Security district manager for the UK and Ireland, said: 

           “The warning from Action Fraud is concerning but not altogether surprising. Unfortunately, fraudsters thrive in times of disruption. The recent shift to e-commerce has been critical for both consumers and the economy, but fraudsters have been quick to take advantage too. In fact, in the first three months of 2020, RSA recovered details of over five million unique compromised cards globally.”

Once credentials are stolen these are sold on the dark web to other fraudsters who can use them to buy goods. During the pandemic, fraudsters appear to have had growing success targeting online sites for fraudulent purchases. Especially. As retailers guided consumers to mobile apps as a means to transact, fraudsters have exploited this shift. As shopping increasingly moves online, there is a dire need to have digital identity verification solutions integrated into the system to know your buyer and to put a halt on fraudsters.