2019 True Cost of Fraud^TM Study: E-commerce/Retail Edition

Consumers demand fast, near-frictionless transactions across every channel which has driven the rapid expansion of digital commerce. These developments translate into new opportunities for fraudsters to manipulate identities across the digital marketplace and maximize the amount of damage they can quickly inflict on your business—often without immediate detection. Balancing consumer expectations while effectively combatting retail fraud can feel like an endless battle that drains resources and focus from your core business objectives.

The LexisNexis® Risk Solutions 2019 True Cost of Fraud^TM Study explores the evolution, expansion and cost of fraud to deliver insights and recommendations on how to effectively sustain your business, successfully manage fraud risks and strengthen customer trust and loyalty. Building upon 10 consecutive years of research, the 2019 study also features the most recent results for the LexisNexis® Fraud MultiplierSM which estimates the total amount of losses a merchant incurs based on the actual dollar value of a fraudulent transaction. For 2019, the LexisNexis® Fraud Multiplier^SM is $3.13, a number that has increased by 6.5% since 2018's study.

Take a closer look at this comprehensive study for a detailed overview that covers:

• Current growth trajectory of U.S. retail fraud in terms of number of attacks and cost impacts
• Consumer trends and behaviors that leave retailers and e-commerce merchants most susceptible to fraud risks
• Persistent identity verification and fraud detection challenges that increase customer friction
• Shifts in the complexity of fraud schemes, including synthetic identities and bot attacks, that increase the demand for more sophisticated approaches to fraud defense
• Strategies that incorporate a multi-layered solutions approach to help lower fraud costs and reduce customer delays 

Capture an industry-driven view into current fraud issues 

Our True Cost of Fraud Study is built from a comprehensive cross-section of 700 U.S. risk and fraud executives representing the retail industry. The study features insights built from a wide spectrum of retail merchants, including: retailers offering e-commerce, retailers receiving a majority of their income though online or mobile channels and retailers offering mobile commerce. To further clarify the study findings, results are segmented and categorized across size and type of merchant, including small merchants earning less than $10 million in annual revenue and mid/large merchants earning over $10 million in annual revenue. 

Confidently tackle fraud by understanding today’s most significant threats

Our study provides an inside look into the relevant fraud threats challenging today’s retailers with detailed statistics that deliver a clear, in-depth picture of current fraud issues. Benchmark how your business compares and build a deeper understanding of the key considerations for your fraud strategy with an illustrated view across various types of retail fraud, including: 

• Friendly/1st Party
• Third-party/Synthetic ID
• Fraudulent requests for refund/return
• Lost or stolen merchandise
• Third-party account takeover

The study consolidates a robust viewpoint of today’s retail fraud environment with closer looks into how some of the most complex fraud challenges are directly impacting retailers in terms of volume, cost and frequency. In addition to a detailed overview of the distribution of fraud losses by payment method, our report also explores specific issues and impacts related to: 

• Managing the speed and velocity of digital good and services
• Performing the right level of authentication to prevent account-related fraud without adding friction
• Responding to the rising level of synthetic identity attacks with deeper, more holistic authentication
• Navigating botnet attacks more effectively
• Maximizing mobile channel opportunities with stronger dual authentication checks focused on the device and the individual 

Solve fraud threats by taking advantage of targeted technology

This year’s True Cost of Fraud Study provides an in-depth examination of the evolution of retail fraud and the expansion of the digital marketplace. While retailers are facing rising costs and revenue impacts, a multi-layered approach to fraud prevention that incorporates different levels of authentication and verification tools can help. Our study explores the benefits of a fraud strategy that utilizes tools designed to authenticate both digital and physical criteria as well as the risk potential tied to the identity and the transaction itself. The study highlights the importance of layering advanced digital and physical identity authentication and fraud transaction risk assessment solutions. It also illustrates how a multi-layered solution approach can lower fraud costs.

See the latest strategies to combat the onslaught of complex fraud challenges facing your business by exploring the complete True Cost of Fraud Study. Raise the effectiveness of your fraud strategy and remain focused on core business objectives and the customer experience with LexisNexis® Risk Solutions.