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Online fraud attempts increase during COVID-19 catastrophe

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According to ACI Worldwide, the rate of fraud attempts have increased to 4.3% in April, slightly lower than the last month’s 5.3% but still higher than last year’s 3.8%. 

Attempted fraud is concentrated on those segments that have witnessed a high sales growth, like consumer electronics, with the typical ticket price of attempted fraud of up to $26. An increase in attempted fraud has been witnessed in the buy online or in-store. According to the payments firm, the transactional value of fraud surged by 9.9%, reflecting fraudsters’ continued focus on high-value items, extending to laptops and TVs.

Chargebacks for non-fraudulent reasons have also been increased by 25% by the end of March as merchants face issues in processing refunds, staffing call centers, and delivering services. Merchants are trying hard to reduce chargeback volumes and related costs trying to improve the dispute experience for consumers.

Debbie Guerra, EVP/ACI Worldwide, stated: “Fraudsters continue to use the disruption to the status quo to target unsuspecting consumers and unprepared businesses,” Furthermore, he suggested that merchants should also ensure that they are monitoring their fraud strategies to adapt to a new dynamic retail environment.