More than 2,000 e-commerce scams occurred last year alone, costing victims $2 million. So how can customers and retailers alike, stay safe when shopping and doing business online? Forter’s very own GM of Asia Pacific, Ata Gokyildirim met with @ChannelNewsAsia reporters in Singapore to discuss how e-commerce fraud in the region is rising, and what consumers and retailers can do to help combat fraud.
Online scams accounted for approximately 20% of all crime last year in Singapore, underscoring the growing impact digital fraud has on consumers and businesses alike. Speaking to the vulnerabilities associated with shopping or doing business online, Ata commented that, “fraudsters don’t discriminate — any opportunity, they will attack and take advantage to monetize the situation.” Although fraudsters look for every means by which to exploit online businesses, they are known to favor specific industries including food and beverage businesses, digital goods platforms, travel and OTA businesses, and electronics merchants. Fraudsters seek out vulnerabilities in these platforms, finding better results created by either the urgency necessitated by the services (travel/OTAs or digital goods), or the ease by which particular items can be resold (electronics).
Consumers and businesses alike should also be cognizant of how private data is being leveraged across different channels. Account Takeover (ATO) attacks continue to increase, growing by 45% by the end of 2018 compared to the beginning of 2017. SuperApps that are commonly used across China, Singapore, and other Asian markets, effectively create an aggregated tool where users can order a cab, shop online, and order a meal, all under the umbrella of one mobile app. While this creates an excellent customer experience, it also means that fraudsters have a single repository which presents them with a wealth of personal and private individual data. 63% of Asia-Pacific consumers prefer to shop on their mobile phones, which means that fraud prevention technology cannot simply be limited to desktop consumer experiences – fraud prevention technology must also account for mobile experiences. As more and more consumers are browsing and shopping via mobile, true fraud prevention solutions will have mobile SDKs to more accurately account for the nuanced behaviors and technology associated with mobile experiences.
Most importantly, just as fraudsters have been increasingly known to work together in fraud rings, colluding to do optimal damage — consumers, retailers, and financial institutions must also collaborate amongst themselves, to better protect the global online payments ecosystem against these fraudulent actors. There is power in a network of fraud fighters, and this can be leveraged through the right technology and industry expertise.
Watch Ata’s conversation with @ChannelNewsAsia below for further insights regarding how consumers and businesses can stay safe online and how these groups should be working together to combat online fraud at large.
