In Brazil, e-commerce is already part of the daily lives of citizens, being one of the favorite ways to shop. Just to have a basis, recent data from the BigDataCorp survey shows that the number of websites dedicated to online purchases has increased by more than 45% since 2014, totaling 20 million pages. Furthermore, a survey by the Brazilian Electronic Commerce Association (ABComm) indicates that total sales in the sector reached over R$ 44 million just in the first quarter of this year
However, as in every successful sector, attention is necessary. This is because criminals take advantage of this popularity to try to deceive both companies and consumers and, with that, make some easy money. Data from Juniper Research confirms that, until 2027, losses from online payment fraud can reach US$ 343 billion globally. When it comes to Brazil, a study by ClearSale indicated that, in the last year, the value of attempted scams reached R$ 3,5 billion
Although consumers are also harmed by fraud, usually the retailer is the one who pays the price, since in most cases it is he who ends up without the product and still needs to provide cashback to customers who were victims on his platform. In this way, at the level of information, below are the four most common e-commerce scams and how companies can protect themselves
car fraud
In this type of scam, the criminal makes a purchase normally through the e-commerce platform. However, after the arrival of the product, he files a complaint and claims that the merchandise was not delivered. Thus, receives a refund from the retailer even having the item in hand, causing double loss to the online store
Identity theft
Using stolen information such as credit card number and CPF, the scammers make various purchases in the online store, often exceeding the bank limit of the poor victim. When the coup was discovered, the problem becomes the retailer's, that in addition to being left without the merchandise, still needs to reimburse the consumer who had their information used without authorization
Interception strike
Also using a stolen card, the criminals make a purchase on the e-commerce site and register the victim's address. However, once the order has been completed, the wrongdoers contact the e-commerce platform and claim to have "gotten the location wrong", requesting that the delivery be made to another location.
Card Test
In possession of a stolen card, criminals start by making small purchases to check if the e-commerce fraud detection system detects them. If they go unnoticed, they start making increasingly larger acquisitions, leaving a financial hole for the victim
To avoid these types of scams, a technology has proven to be very effective: Artificial Intelligence. Data from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) indicates that, worldwide, 18% of professionals in the fraud prevention sector already use AI and Machine Learning in their work. Furthermore, a study by Nvidia showed that 78% of professionals in financial sectors have also been using AI to tackle challenges related to fraud
This happens because when using AI combined with data analysis, it is possible to identify individuals more prone to fraudulent actions, since technology performs a complete analysis of all the virtual traces of that person, including online behavior. In this way, it is possible to obtain a true understanding of your intentions and attitudes in the virtual environment.
Furthermore, with Machine Learning, what is machine automated learning, the e-commerce players system will recognize the patterns of the most common scams. With that, automatically, the technology differentiates a legitimate transaction from a fraudulent one thanks to specifications that only this solution can detect, once the scammers are increasingly informed and creative in their endeavors, passing immune to traditional methods
