Online fraud is predicted to rise by a staggering 18% by 2015 according to a recent study commissioned by PayPoint.net ("Gangsters' Paradise or Shoppers' Delight?"). This is quite a surprising forecast as this type of cyber crime has been falling steadily over the last couple of years.
To understand why this may be happening we need to look at how the online environment and the way we behave in it is changing.
Firstly, the number of people making purchases over the Internet is growing, naturally increasing the probability of fraud occurring. The way in which we are paying for purchases made over the web is also changing with mobiles and social networks offering new shopping channels to all of us.
Another major factor which cannot be overlooked is the soar in the number of online outlets. With offline retailers enduring a hard time it is understandable why many entrepreneurs have decided to follow consumers into the online world. This however means that there are many traders who are still learning about the potential dangers lurking across the web and may therefore be applying less attention to security issues.
It is true that security software is getting better every year, but if the retailers do not stay on top of the updates and new developments then they will not be able to take advantage of this progress.
In addition the same measures which have been proven to successfully help and spot fraudulent transactions made through e-commerce websites may not easily transfer onto mobile or f-commerce shops. 3D Secure for example does not work on many mobile devices. This means that criminals could find it easier to make use of stolen cards, etc.
To make things worse, security developers will need time to assess all the specific risks around mobile and social commerce in order to create adequate protection tools for those new shopping platforms, which could create a vacuum in which fraudsters could flourish.
To help prevent this from happening we will all need to take extra care every time we make or in case of retailers - process online payments, regardless whether they're made on a PC, mobile or through Facebook.
With the Christmas rush just weeks away there will be even more of us going online through various channels to purchase presents and other goods. It is crucial that shoppers do not compromise their security by dropping their guard in this extremely busy period.
Retailers and customers alike put pressure on developers to make the new shopping channels easy to use, but this should not mean a compromise in terms of security. We would all love to be able to make one click purchases through our mobiles or Facebook but we also need to think about how much more vulnerable to fraud this would make us.
It is great to have a choice of shopping whenever and wherever suits us best, but security should always be on our minds when parting with any personal information in order to complete transactions. That way maybe we can help to minimise the predicted spike in fraud.