Online Credit Card Fraud Against Small Businesses

• NCJ Number: 209311
• Author(s): Kate Charlton; Natalie Taylor
• Date Published: 2004
• Length: 73 pages
• Corporate Author: Australian Institute of Criminology
• Sale Source: Australian Institute of Criminology
• Publication Format: Document (Online)
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Australian Institute of Criminology Research and Public Policy Series No. 60

Annotation

This study examined how online credit card fraud affects small businesses in Australia.

Abstract

The online retailing environment has grown enormously over the past decade and offers businesses an opportunity to expand their customer base and increase profits. However, with the growth of online shopping has come the growth of online credit card fraud. This study employed a random stratified sampling technique to examine how online credit card fraud impacts five types of small businesses in Australia: florists, booksellers, toy and game traders, computer hardware retailers, and recorded music retailers. These businesses were chosen because they were considered the most likely to engage in online customer transactions. Telephone interviews were conducted with 1,078 of these small businesses across Australia during April 2003; interviews focused on the prevalence of online credit card fraud among these retailers, financial losses due to credit card fraud, knowledge about financial liability from online credit card fraud, prevention strategies, and attitudes toward financial institutions. Results indicated that, across the entire sample, 13 percent of the small businesses traded online while another 77 percent expected to begin online trading within the next 2 years. Of those who were trading online, 89 percent expressed satisfaction with the practice and 56 percent estimated that online trading had significantly increased sales. The fraud prevention measures mentioned during the interviews ranged from confirmation telephone calls to customers to rejection of suspicious orders. Online credit card fraud prevalence rates ranged from 26 percent among recorded music retailers to 48 percent among booksellers. Only 21 percent of these incidents were reported to Australian police during 2002. Recommendations are offered for improving online trading practices, including the recommendation to use manual screening techniques in addition to electronic authorizations. Figures, tables, appendixes, references