Most retail fraud now committed online
Retailers are suffering from increased levels of fraud, most of which is now committed online, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has said.
This year’s BRC Retail Crime Survey, published today, found retailers warned they expected fraud “to pose the single most significant threat to their businesses over the next two years.” Levels of fraud increased by 12% in 2013-14, with 135,814 incidents reported during the year. Together, they account for 37% of the total £603m cost of retail crime. Some 30% of retailers questioned said fraud, including cyber-enabled fraud, would be the most significant threat in the next two years. That was followed by theft by customers (18%), theft of customer details (15%) and theft by staff (10%).