Opinion Piece by Andrew Buxton, CEO eStar

With the continuing growth in online shopping a less glamorous side of this trend is the increase in online fraud. As we head into the major shopping season of the year, expectations are that this year will be no exception.

Globally online retail fraud now accounts for over one per cent of all online sales, and with annual growth at nearly 24 per cent per annum it presents a clear and real threat to Australasian retailers. In this online environment, merchants are liable for every payment they receive. With credit cards without a signature being the most common payment method accepted, there is no fallback to the banks - online, merchants are responsible for their own security.

Services to help identify individuals – such as the MasterCard Identity Check are helpful and have some impact. But online fraud is largely “friendly” fraud, which means better verification of an individual won’t make any difference.