Company
Date Published
Author
Emma Roberts
Word count
1578
Language
English
Hacker News points
None

Summary

Triangulation fraud is a sophisticated form of eCommerce fraud involving a fraudster who acts as a middleman in transactions between a genuine customer and a legitimate eCommerce site. This scam typically occurs in card-not-present transactions on online marketplaces such as eBay or Amazon, where the fraudster uses stolen credit card information to purchase items from legitimate sites, leading to chargebacks and financial losses for the retailers while the customer receives their order unaware of the deceit. The impact of triangulation fraud is significant, with potential losses predicted to exceed $10 billion in the U.S. by 2024, comprising a major portion of all online fraud. Fraudsters obtain the necessary credit card information through methods like account takeovers, phishing, social engineering, and data breaches. To combat triangulation fraud, businesses are advised to adopt multi-layered anti-fraud strategies, including educating customers, implementing risk-based authentication, and utilizing digital identification solutions like browser fingerprinting. These measures not only help in identifying suspicious activities but also protect sensitive customer information, maintaining the trust and integrity of eCommerce platforms.