CHICAGO—Strong holiday sales have been backed with an equally strong level of ecommerce fraud, a new report shows.
According to the TransUnion Holiday Retail Report, ecommerce fraud spiked over the 2020 Thanksgiving weekend. Fraud rates were up 59% compared to the same time in 2019, and up 14% compared to the rest of this year.
Cyber Monday reported the highest volume of online fraud, representing 26% of suspicious transactions. This was followed by Small Business Saturday at 12% and Thanksgiving at the same 12%, LowCards.com reported in its analysis.
TransUnion found that 50% of consumers were worried about online fraud over the holidays, with Gen X reporting the highest level of concern.
“This may be due to an increase in COVID-19 related fraud. The Consumer Financial Hardship Study reveals a 28% increase in COVID-related fraud between April and November 2020,” LowCards.com said.