As Ecommerce Booms, Online Shopping Fraud is on the Rise
Online shopping fraud and identity theft are on the rise, research shows, and as fraudsters develop new methods, many online shoppers remain unaware of basic online privacy rules.
One-third of respondents believe that various activities—such as checking email, logging into a social media account, or checking a bank account—are safe on public wifi, suggests a recent survey from NordVPN.
“This points to a lack of understanding of just how vulnerable users can be on public networks, where the level of security is unknown and anyone with basic hacking skills can access sensitive data of everyone connected,” said Marty Kamden, chief marketing officer of NordVPN.
The number of US identity-theft victims rose to a record 15 million last year from 13 million in 2015. Ecommerce merchants will be spending $9.2 billion annually in fraud-detection by 2020, up 30% from current spending, according to Juniper Research.
“Online fraud usually happens when people are not careful with their online activities—not using strong passwords, entering credit card information without making sure the website is not a fake, and doing any online transaction on unsecured hotspots,” said Kamden.
