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How to protect your online retail business from the growing threat of cybercrime

  • E-commerce crime is on the rise, with both the number and individual value of fraudulent purchases increasing during the pandemic
  • PayPal’s latest Digitise & Thrive e-book explains how businesses can protect themselves against cybercrime

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A boom in e-commerce has led to a rise in cybercrime, with fraud against online retailers on the rise. Photo: Shutterstock

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The global pandemic has led to a boom in e-commerce as consumers embrace digital shopping channels. In Hong Kong, 50 per cent of consumers are more confident about shopping online than they were before Covid-19 struck, according to research by KPMG¹.

The surge in e-commerce has not only caught the attention of retailers, but also that of fraudsters, making the need to protect online business more important than ever.

A new breed of fraudster

While it may be tempting to assume online fraud is limited to isolated incidents conducted by hackers working alone, the reality is very different. Cybercrime is increasingly being carried out by sophisticated and coordinated networks of perpetrators.

Globally, fraudulent activities against e-commerce retailers soared by 18 per cent in 2021 compared with the previous year², while each fraudulent purchase was, on average, 70 per cent higher in value than before the pandemic³.

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