By the Stats: Fraudsters Appear More Likely to Target Larger Merchants

The average percentage of online revenue lost to payment fraud has decreased slightly for smaller-sized merchants, but increased for merchants with annual online revenue of $5 million or more, according to a new study from CyberSource, a provider of e-payment and risk management solutions.

¥ 1.6 percent: average percentage of online revenue lost in 2005 to payment fraud for merchants with $500,000 or less in annual online revenue, down from 1.8 percent in 2004 and 2 percent in 2003.

¥ 1.6 percent in 2005 for merchants with $500,000 to $5 million in online revenue, down from 2.5 percent in 2004 and 1.9 percent in 2003.

¥ 1.8 percent in 2005 for merchants with $5 million to $25 million in online revenue, up from 1.5 percent in both 2004 and 2003.

¥ 1.2 percent in 2005 for merchants with more than $25 million in online revenue, up from 1.1 percent in 2004, but down from 1.3 percent in 2003.

Source: “7th Annual Online Fraud Report” sponsored by CyberSource, http://www.cybersource.com