Managing risk of rejecting valid transactions amid cybersecurity fight

IN recent months, news on e-commerce fraud and payment scams have increasingly surfaced, a reflection of two things: the rigorous shift towards digital consumption amid Covid-19, and a new wave of malicious actors exploiting both weaknesses in online platforms and public fears over the pandemic.

Multiple industries - banking, e-commerce, healthcare, telecommunications and even entertainment - have become the target of fraudulent activities, and will contribute globally to a 60 per cent rise in fraud rate brought on by the outbreak.

This aggressive increase in fraudulent activities stems from the marked growth in e-commerce spending, prompted by the Covid-19 pandemic. In Singapore, e-commerce scams topped the list this year, registering a nearly 75 per cent year-on-year increase in volume, going by mid-year crime statistics released by the Singapore Police Force. Most of these e-commerce frauds occurred on digital marketplaces.