Record number of online traders hit by fraud

A record number of Swiss online traders say they have been victim of fraud this year, a new survey has found. 

According to the survey by the CRIF consultancy, 97% of online companies questioned said they had been hit by fraud at least once this year, which is up 4.6% on 2018. The survey was carried out in partnership with the Swiss Association of Online Traders. 

The most common form of fraud consisted of ordering goods and not paying for them. This was followed by people who placed orders using false information or stealing the identity of someone else. 

For most companies, the losses were not more than CHF5,000 ($5,000). However, losses of CHF5,000 to CHF10,000 were up 7.7%, according to the survey. Losses of between CHF10,000 and CHF25,000 were up 2.8%. 

More than 6% of online retail sites said that losses from fraud totalled more than 2% of their turnover.