Shipping fraud had a global increase of nearly 800% over the course of 2021, according to TransUnion’s 2022 Global Digital Fraud Trends Report.
“Shipping fraud – defined as when a buyer spoofs a shipping address or when a seller receives payment for goods or services, but never ships to the buyer – has quickly emerged as one of the top fraud types across a variety of industries,” the researchers write. “This issue, however, was most prominent in the logistics industry where consumers purchase goods online and are then reliant on third-party carriers for transportation and delivery of items.”
In terms of specific industries affected by shipping fraud, the gaming industry and the travel and leisure sector saw the highest percentages.
“While shipping fraud spans a plethora of industries, certain business sectors tend to be more prone to digital fraud attempts,” TransUnion says. “In the United States, the gaming industry saw the largest percentage of annual fraud growth in 2021 with an increase of 60.3% YoY. Travel and leisure (58.4%) and telecommunications (29.5%) were the second and third industries with the largest growth in the rate of suspected digital fraud attempts. Financial services was another significantly affected industry and increased 27.2% YoY, a level that remained below the global growth rate of 33.5%, while insurance (11.1%) rounded out the top five.”
Additionally, the financial services and travel and leisure industries saw the most growth in digital fraud in general.
“Globally, financial services, and travel and leisure ranked as the top two rated industries with the largest growth in the amount of suspected digital fraud attempts,” TransUnion says. “This became especially prevalent as economies normalized from the height of the pandemic and tourism resumed. Digital fraud in the travel and leisure sector saw the greatest YoY increase and grew 68.4% with credit card fraud as the predominant type – which is where a customer uses a fake or stolen credit card for a purchase, resulting in a chargeback to the site.”
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