Technology savvy consumers who shop by using social media websites as well as mobile phone apps are at a higher risk of fraud, based on a new study. Experts believed that approximately £30 million might be sacrificed to fraudsters by 2015.
The danger of fraud is significantly higher whilst buying via mobile phones and social networkig websites due to the fact that consumers asked to supply fewer credentials while buying something, as mentioned on the online merchant PayPoint.net's new report.
As modern technology evolves and products like the iPhone emerged as more widespread, more customers are buying using apps or on social media websites like Facebook.
The study, which was performed by the Centre for Economic and Business Research (CEBR), on behalf of PayPoint.net, forecasts that online fraud is most likely to increase by 18%, from £165.2million in 2011 to £195.3million in 2015.
The development of mobile phones and social media store shopping is estimated to generate online sales to £33.7billion by 2015, a yearly increase of 4.5%.
In current years e-commerce fraud has decreased as companies embrace much more secure transaction methods and fraud assessment guard methods, such as Verified by Visa and Mastercard SecureCode.
Michael Norton, managing director of PayPoint.net, said: ' Shopping using a mobile phone or preferred social networking website is the upcoming big thing in e-commerce, but identity thieves are likely to capitalise on poor awareness of the risks by shoppers and retailers alike.
'This study shows these new ways of shopping could be victims of their own successes for all the wrong reasons. The next few years will be a period of trial and error as mobile and social media commerce evolves in the UK.'
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