When it comes to the stress of dealing with eCommerce scams, digital business teams don’t need reminding. But the current and projected cost of eCommerce fraud is truly staggering.  A study by Juniper Research, a leader in fintech insights, forecasts that eCommerce fraud is set to leap from $44.3 billion in 2024 to $107 billion by 2029. That’s stomach-churning 141% jump.

Needless to say, eCommerce fraud prevention has never been a more pressing goal. To help reach it, here are seven essential eCommerce fraud prevention actions to start prioritizing. First, let’s define the basics.

What is eCommerce Fraud?

eCommerce fraud includes any deceptive activity targeting online retailers and their customers – from fake websites and purchase scams to credential theft and payment fraud. Understanding these threats is the first step toward effective prevention.

Best Practice 1: Gain Visibility and Control Over Brand Impersonation and Fake Shops

Brand impersonation scams and fake e-shops remain among the most damaging and widespread eCommerce fraud threats. Fraudsters create fake websites, social media profiles, and phishing emails that closely mimic your brand to steal customer data or payments.

Fake e-shops in particular lure customers into purchase scams – accepting payments but never delivering goods. Beyond financial loss, these scams erode customer trust and damage your brand reputation.

How to gain visibility and control:

• Continuously monitor your entire digital footprint, including websites, social media, and online marketplaces, to detect emerging impersonation threats before they impact customers.
• Clearly display trademarks and educate customers on authentic communication channels, helping them distinguish legitimate interactions from scams.
• Leverage Memcyco’s patented, agentless nano-defender technology – discreetly embedded within your site code – to deliver real-time detection and disruption of impersonating sites. This technology not only covertly protects customers the moment they engage with scams, but also empowers proactive prevention that significantly reduces your exposure window and potential damage.
• Gain real-time visibility into brand impersonation attempts and scams with Memcyco’s real-time digital impersonation, phishing and ATO protection platform that provides detailed insights into impersonation attempts, attacker devices, and individual victim identities to empower swift and targeted response.

Read a case study: Learn how leading eCommerce brands are using Memcyco to save millions in opex, protect revenue from purchase scams and fake shops, and gain unmatched visibility into impersonation attacks. [Read the Industry Impact Case Study →]

Best Practice 2: Gain Real-Time Visibility and Control Over SEO Poisoning Threats

Digital business teams know that SEO poisoning manipulates search engine results to direct users to malicious sites. Attackers exploit popular keywords to boost fake sites in search rankings.

How to spot and prevent SEO poisoning:

• Watch for traffic spikes and suspicious search results.
• Conduct regular audits of brand-related queries.
• Deploy Memcyco’s real-time monitoring to detect and neutralize SEO poisoning attacks early.

Best Practice 3: Stop Phishing Attacks and Protect Customer Credentials in Real Time

Phishing remains a top attack vector, using deceptive messages to steal sensitive data.

To stay resilient:

• Educate employees and customers about phishing signs.
• Use strong email authentication protocols (SPF, DKIM, DMARC).
• Leverage Memcyco’s real-time phishing site detection and decoy data technology to prevent credential theft and lock out attackers.
  
  

Best Practice 4: Block Account Takeover Attempts Before They Succeed

ATO attacks use stolen credentials to access customer accounts, often leading to loyalty points theft.

Effective defenses include:

• Advanced device fingerprinting to spot suspicious logins.
• Behavioral analytics to detect abnormal activity.
• Multi-factor authentication (MFA) to block unauthorized access.
• Memcyco enhances these defenses by proactively monitoring and stopping ATO attempts before compromise.

Best Practice 5: Neutralize Stolen Credentials and Payment Data with Decoy Data

Even when fraudsters obtain credentials or payment data, marked decoy data protects your customers by replacing real data and locking out attackers who try to use stolen information.

Memcyco uniquely provides this protection, minimizing fraud losses and preventing unauthorized transactions.

Best Practice 6: Leverage Behavioral Analytics and Bot Protection

Automated bots increasingly exploit vulnerabilities for credential stuffing and scraping.

Key tactics:

• Use behavioral device analytics to identify bots versus legitimate users.
• Deploy Memcyco’s bot protection to block fraudulent automated activity and reduce fraud exposure.

Best Practice 7: Implement Robust Authentication and Fraud Policies

Strong authentication (MFA, biometrics) combined with clear, transparent fraud management policies helps your teams react quickly and consistently to emerging threats.

Regularly review and update these controls to adapt to evolving fraud tactics.

Get Real-time Control of Your Exposure to eCommerce Fraud

eCommerce fraud prevention demands vigilance and agility. Closing the window of exposure from when fake sites go live to when they’re taken down is critical.

Besides fast, automated takedowns, Memcyco offers analyst-endorsed capabilities digital and fraud teams can use to protect conversion rates, reduce customer drop-off caused by scam exposure, preserve brand trust, and minimize loyalty and payment fraud losses, strengthening key eCommerce KPIs across revenue, retention, and customer experience.

Memcyco’s solutions are trusted by leading eCommerce brands and are available on the AWS Marketplace. Book a demo today to see how leading eCommerce brands save millions of dollars annually on scam-related losses and expenses.

FAQs About eCommerce Fraud Prevention 

How can I spot eCommerce fraud?

Spotting eCommerce fraud requires monitoring for suspicious behaviors across customer accounts and transactions. Look for unusual login patterns, sudden changes in account information, multiple failed login attempts, and unexpected order activity. Tracking these signals in real time helps identify fraud attempts before they cause harm.

How do I prevent eCommerce fraud?

Effective eCommerce fraud prevention combines strong authentication, real-time detection, and proactive fraud management. Deploy multi-factor authentication (MFA) to secure accounts, use behavioral analytics and device fingerprinting to identify abnormal activity, and implement advanced fraud protection tools like Memcyco to detect impersonation scams and phishing attacks in real time.

What are the most common types of eCommerce fraud?

The most common eCommerce fraud types include phishing attacks, account takeover (ATO), loyalty points fraud, and purchase scams from fake e-shops. These attacks typically aim to steal customer credentials or payment data, or trick customers into making fraudulent transactions on impersonating sites.

What is eCommerce fraud detection?

eCommerce fraud detection involves using advanced tools and methodologies to identify fraudulent activities targeting online businesses. Techniques include real-time monitoring of user behavior, device fingerprinting, phishing site detection, bot protection, and decoy data deployment. Solutions like Memcyco enable businesses to detect and disrupt fraud as it unfolds, protecting customers and revenue.

What is loyalty points fraud and how to prevent it?

Loyalty points fraud occurs when fraudsters gain unauthorized access to customer loyalty program accounts and steal or misuse accumulated points. This type of fraud often stems from phishing attacks or credential stuffing. To prevent loyalty points fraud, deploy MFA for loyalty program access, monitor accounts for abnormal activity, and use real-time detection tools like Memcyco to block credential harvesting attempts and neutralize stolen credentials with decoy data.

Lori Moss

Director, Strategic Accounts at Memcyco