Fraud

The internet has gotten a lot harder to trust. Consumers are increasingly aware that inauthentic experiences are out there, and that changes the way they approach every site they visit, whether their intent is to browse or purchase. Recent Pantheon research found that 78 percent of consumers are concerned about encountering fake online stores, and…

For years, retail fraud and risk teams have built their Cyber Week playbooks around Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Those days still matter, but they no longer tell the whole story when it comes to Cyber Week fraud risk. It turns out that the risk window is getting wider, with fraud activity beginning to tick…

Retailers engaged in online commerce with third-party sellers are generally well equipped to catch clear violations, such as a prohibited product, a known bad actor, or an obvious policy breach. Technology can typically catch these violations, often before a seller even begins transacting on a platform. The problem, however, is that bad actors are becoming…

Marketplaces have spent a decade making participation intuitive and inviting. Sellers can list products or services in minutes and get paid quickly. Buyers can tap to check out, implicitly trusting the underlying platforms’ purchasing processes and technologies. However, with consumer and seller expectations for speed and emerging automation developments, exactly who (or what) is transacting…

Over the past two years, I've had dozens of conversations with retailers evaluating artificial intelligence tools and capabilities. No matter the size of the business or the sophistication of the technology, the discussions tend to follow a familiar pattern with the same several questions coming up again and again. The conversation usually starts with two…

Retailers today face a difficult balancing act: strengthening fraud prevention while maintaining a smooth and seamless customer experience. As digital payments continue to grow, so does exposure to fraud. This can be particularly problematic for small to midsized retailers that may lack dedicated security resources. At the same time, customers expect fast, frictionless transactions across…

Retailers have spent years strengthening fraud defenses at checkout, but today, wrongdoing committed after customers hit the buy button is far more costly for merchants. Return fraud and abuse have become the newest form of “digital shrink,” which shows up through customer refunds, false claims, policy abuse, and inventory that can’t be resold. And as…

Retail’s biggest fraud problem today isn’t the activity that looks suspicious. It’s the activity organizations think they can trust. Retailers are operating with constant disruption while autonomous environments power faster transactions. Furthermore, retailers are operating with less humans to verify. What happens then? Fraudsters step in. The result is a collapse of digital trust inside…

One of the biggest misconceptions in fraud prevention is that it’s a purely technical challenge. The most effective fraud fighters rely on more than better tooling. They start with a different mindset: thinking like a fraudster. In today’s era of artificial intelligence-powered attacks, that shift from reactive defense to proactive offense is no longer optional.…

It’s an alarming time for retailers. According to Deloitte, only 3 percent feel well prepared to address artificial intelligence risks, underscoring a need to rethink cybersecurity strategies. As AI reshapes today’s threat landscape, brands must evaluate how attackers are targeting their systems, why traditional defenses are failing, and what practical steps can help reduce risk.…