Report: Black Friday top date for card present fraud

San Mateo, Calif. –- Last year, Black Friday was the top date for “card present” (CP) fraud, where a payment card is presented in a store for unauthorized usage. Data science company Feedzai analyzed data representing $750 billion in payment volume and more than 17.5 billion transactions in both card present (CP) and card not present (unauthorized online card purchases, or CNP) environments.



Feedzai also found that the average CNP fraudster spends about $900 per card in five days, while CP fraudsters take seven days to spend an average of $450. In 2013, the 10 days with the most CNP fraud occurred in November. More than three times more CNP fraud occurs in November than in June (the month with the least CNP fraud). None of the top CNP fraud days in November were on Black Friday because they were busy with CP fraud. Shoppers, and fraudsters, flood brick-and-mortar retailers making Black Friday the day with the most CP fraud.



Other notable findings include:



• The most CNP fraud occurs between 12 and 1 pm, while CP fraud is more likely to occur between 4 and 5 pm.

• The highest rate of overall fraud occurs on Monday, and Sunday is the day that the fewest fraudulent transactions occur. The most CP fraud occurs on Saturday, 42% higher than on Sunday, and the most CNP fraud occurs on Monday, 92% higher than on Sunday.

• Grocery stores/supermarkets (25%) and home supply warehouse stores (8%) are top targets for CP fraud. Top merchant categories for CNP fraud include electronics stores (11%), discount stores (10.2%) and computers, peripherals and software (7.8%).



“As we approach the holiday season, we are bound to see more evidence in fraud, especially with CNP transactions, and it will likely be bigger this season than last,” said Nuno Sebastiao, CEO of Feedzai. “Fraudsters are also quickly shifting behaviors and targets as shoppers change behaviors. We expect that we will continue to see more cross-channel fraud this season as shoppers look to save time by ordering online and picking up in-store.”