retail environment
Cifas survey reveals scale of 'opportunistic' refund fraud in retail
Research commissioned by leading fraud prevention service Cifas* revealed that almost one fifth (19 per cent) of UK consumers have either falsely claimed a failed delivery to obtain a refund after using the product or know someone who has.
According to the study, with 80 per cent of UK shoppers now buying online, the retail sector is already losing upwards of £11 billion to payment fraud annually.
The Cifas survey of 2,000 UK adults also exposes worrying attitudes among consumers, with 17 per cent of those individuals not believing it was illegal to falsely claim non-delivery, while 6 per cent felt this type of fraud was ‘reasonable’.
A striking 35 per cent of those aged between 16 and 24 admitted they would be willing to lie to obtain a refund and just under half (48 per cent) of respondents said it was ‘reasonable’ to commit first-party fraud - when someone knowingly misrepresents their identity or provides false information for either financial or material gain.
Cifas is urging consumers to think about the consequences and wider implications of dishonestly requesting refunds.
Mike Haley, CEO of Cifas, said: “Every purchase is an agreement built on trust between the retailer and consumer. Breaking that trust by falsely claiming a package never arrived is first-party fraud. It’s not harmless and it’s not victimless, either.”
Haley continued: “This type of deception costs the UK’s economy billions of pounds, puts pressure on honest retail businesses and undermines confidence in online shopping. Individuals who are caught face serious consequences such as criminal charges, hefty fines and a criminal record that can damage their futures. For retailers, robust fraud prevention measures mean these deceptive practices don’t become even more socially accepted.”
*The survey was carried out by Opinion Matters on behalf of Cifas, with a nationally representative sample of 2,000 UK-based individuals.
