ONLINE FRAUD RATE UP SIXTY PERCENT IN EUROPE
Monday April 30,2012 : ONLINE FRAUD RATE UP SIXTY PERCENT IN EUROPE
Anti-fraud firm says the risk in Europe is mounting
Online fraud detection company Iovation reports that in Q1-2012 the rate of fraudulent online transactions it stopped in Europe is 60 percent greater today than a year ago.
The rates compared look at transactions for the first quarter of 2011 compared to the first quarter of 2012.
The top three European countries for online fraud this past year included Romania, Lithuania and Croatia, the company reveals. While fraudulent activity was stopped by its Reputation Manager 360 software in many industries within these countries, the top types of fraud were:
* Main Romanian fraud was online dating scams and solicitations;
* Lithuania led with online gambling fraud, with dating scams coming in a close second and;
* Croatia had the highest number of eCommerce fraudulent transactions, relating to the use of stolen credit cards to purchase online retail goods and services.
To help deal with its increased use in Europe, Iovation has launched a new European data centre, now actively serving content to clients across Europe, streamlining data collection and improving fraud prevention.
Despite the growing incidence of online fraud, consumer online spending in the U.K. continues to rise, according to Interactive Media in Retail Group, a British trade association for the e-retail community.
IMRG reports that shoppers spend was in the billions and up 14 percent year-on-year in March 2012. The use of mobile devices to shop rose an impressive 254 percent year-on-year, although conversion rates remain low. In March 2012, conversion rates on mobile doubled from the year-ago month, from 0.7 percent to 1.4 percent, respectively.
