Outsmarting Payment Fraud in the Age of Automation

Payment fraud decapitates business growth—but before a company’s market opportunity even comes to a head, fraudsters hellbent on financial theft can attack vulnerabilities across on-site customer journeys, and across the internet, stealing data and funds, and putting online merchants at risk long before a login, transfer, or transaction even takes place.

Fraudsters have plenty of motive to snatch revenue when the probability of a payout is so high: last year, consumers spent $871 billion online with U.S. merchants alone, up 14.2% year-over-year. Between 2020-2021, average daily transaction volumes across Sift’s global merchant network rose in every industry, with the biggest surge in fintech at 121% growth YoY.

Order volumes shot up by about 24% in marketplaces, and 34% in travel & hospitality, signaling new fluctuations in demand for markets hit hard by the pandemic. And while volumes rose less dramatically in digital goods & services, on-demand, and retail, fraudsters follow growth and spend wherever it shows up—and the pool of potential victims gets larger by the day.