Retailers suffer soaring loss from card fraud
Posted on in Business News , Cycles News , Creative News, Outdoor News
Retailers could be witnessing soaring losses in the areas of credit card and returns fraud, the UK Retail Fraud Survey 2016 has revealed.
The survey, sponsored by WIS International, is the most extensive report into the systems, processes and strategies of the UK's top retailers.
Sources say that, whilst final numbers have not yet been collated, early indications suggest that credit card and returns fraud are areas for concern.
Credit card fraud is a wide-ranging term for theft and fraud committed involving a payment card as a fraudulent source of funds in a transaction. The fraudster either can buy goods without using their own money or obtain funds from an account that doesn't belong to them.
Returns fraud is when someone defrauds a retail store via the returns process. There are various ways in which this crime is committed and includes wardrobing or renting, e.g. clothes or a video for a special occasion, returning stolen merchandise, receipt fraud, employees returning stolen goods for full price, price switching and price arbitrage.
The annual cost of fraud in the UK is estimated to be between £52bn and £85bn. While it is not always possible to prevent fraud from happening, education and awareness are the best ways to avoid it.
Global Payments have created a Fraud Awareness Guide to help you become more aware of the most common frauds that have been attempted. This will help you to know what to keep an eye out for.