Fraud Rising With Jump in November E-Commerce Transactions, Says ACI

Digital payments company ACI Worldwide reported a 21% year-on-year increase in global e-commerce transactions in November, driven by household items and services, including remote education and training, and insurance for consumer electronics. Data from hundreds of millions of e-commerce transactions from global merchants showed a 30% boost in the retail sector Thanksgiving-Cyber Monday, with the biggest year-on-year spike -- 47% -- that Saturday. Average ticket prices during the five-day span fell 3% to $132. “This year’s holiday season is looking very different from previous years with many merchants starting sales much earlier, as well as continuing promotions beyond the traditional peak days of Black Friday and Cyber Monday,” said Executive Vice President Debbie Guerra, citing a substantial rise in e-commerce volume before Black Friday. Fraud attempt rates increased slightly to 1.7% by volume and 3.4% by value, similar to prior holiday seasons, said ACI. Nonfraud chargebacks increased by 15% in October vs. April and May due to more people being back at work and call centers better staffed to deal with consumer calls, it said. Consumers should avoid leaving packages on their doorsteps for long periods of time to avoid porch piracy, Guerra said, and they should be vigilant about store pickup scams: “As the buy-online-pick-up-in-store channel continues to experience fast growth driven by the pandemic, it is providing greater opportunity for fraudsters,” she said.