Friendly fraud or cyber-shoplifting is a term used to describe "card not present" claims committed by the actual card holder. Most shoppers, of course, would never commit this kind of fraud, but friendly fraud remains a significant problem for thousands of online merchants across the country.

According to the Federal Reserve System’s triennial payments study in 2013, over two-thirds of all non-cash transactions in 2012 occurred on a credit card, which is up significantly from 60% just three years prior. In the study, it is also very apparent that cards carry the highest risks; especially with friendly fraud or cyber shoplifting.

In "The 2013 Federal Reserve Payments Study", it is estimated that there were 122.8 billion noncash transactions in 2012, which is up 14% from 2009, and the last year the Federal Reserve did their study. In that time span, credit card or card based payment grew 28% to 82.3 billion transactions. The data from the Federal Reserve shows us that because of e-commerce, people are more readily making more purchases.

Additionally, according to LexisNexis and their yearly study "The True Cost of Fraud", friendly fraud or cyber shoplifting accounts for about 20% or about $22 billion annually of all the fraud that merchants are unnecessarily absorbing. Also, according to LexisNexis, a merchant pays an average of $2.70 for every $1 lost to friendly fraud. In other words, if a merchant sold an item for $1,000, and the customer made a simple claim to their credit card company that it wasn’t them, that item actually cost the merchant $2,700.

1. They can dispute the charges with their credit card company, claiming they never purchased the item.
2. They can claim that the goods or services ordered were not delivered or not received as advertised.

Friendly Fraud In The News

FBI Warns of Friendly Fraud

Friendly fraud or cyber-shoplifting is a term used to describe "card not present" claims committed by the actual card holder. Most shoppers, of course, would never commit this kind of fraud, but friendly fraud remains a significant problem for thousands of online merchants across the country.

According to the Federal Reserve System’s triennial payments study in 2013, over two-thirds of all non-cash transactions in 2012 occurred on a credit card, which is up significantly from 60% just three years prior. In the study, it is also very apparent that cards carry the highest risks; especially with friendly fraud or cyber shoplifting.

In "The 2013 Federal Reserve Payments Study", it is estimated that there were 122.8 billion noncash transactions in 2012, which is up 14% from 2009, and the last year the Federal Reserve did their study. In that time span, credit card or card based payment grew 28% to 82.3 billion transactions. The data from the Federal Reserve shows us that because of e-commerce, people are more readily making more purchases.

Additionally, according to LexisNexis and their yearly study "The True Cost of Fraud", friendly fraud or cyber shoplifting accounts for about 20% or about $22 billion annually of all the fraud that merchants are unnecessarily absorbing. Also, according to LexisNexis, a merchant pays an average of $2.70 for every $1 lost to friendly fraud. In other words, if a merchant sold an item for $1,000, and the customer made a simple claim to their credit card company that it wasn’t them, that item actually cost the merchant $2,700.

1. They can dispute the charges with their credit card company, claiming they never purchased the item.
2. They can claim that the goods or services ordered were not delivered or not received as advertised.

Friendly Fraud In The News

FBI Warns of Friendly Fraud