"European web remains a dangerous place for business": study
Published: 08 May 2008
A study by the European Commission had indicated that consumers using credit cards to pay for flights online and meals at restaurants are the most likely to be targeted by fraudsters.
A report issued recently by the European Commission (EC) has pledged to do more to combat the growing problem of electronic payment fraud. The EC report on fraud and measure taken to combat it between 2004 and 2007 said that although the number of fraudulent payments made was small, when compared to the volumes of legitimate transactions made across the Euro-zone, their affect was to undermine confidence among EU citizens in buying and selling online. It said payment fraud had continued to migrate online, where transactions are carried out without the person or method of payment needing to be present.
While new laws fighting cyber crimes have been passed by many EU members, the European web remains a dangerous place for business, according to the report. The details are eye-catching, including a figure of 10 million fraudulent web transactions costing EU merchants a 1.5 billion Euros ($2.2 billion) in losses per annum. The report offers a snapshot of the activity in Net fraud and countermeasures taken between 2004 and 2007, which shows that while the number of fraud cases is a small percent, this illegal shadow still damages overall confidence for online buyers in the EU states.
"Online fraud is considered the easiest due to the relative simplicity of stealing an identity in the online world," the study states.
The study identifies a number of e-commerce activities that are most likely to end up as fraud cases due to the low use of protection systems. "The airlines, travel agencies and gaming and gambling sectors have been identified as weak areas. Crimes related to e-banking - the use of online bank accounts - are increasing as web services continue to spread."
According to the Commission, the development of the Single Euro Payments Area (Sepa) by industry will also provide an opportunity to build on the legislative framework to increase security and trust.
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