Some 71% of Consumers Encounter E-commerce Scams, a Clutch Report Finds

As U.S. consumers take to e-commerce for more and more of their shopping, so too are scammers eyeing vulnerable consumers. It’s so common that 71% of consumers have faced a scam or an attempted one.

That’s according to Clutch, a Washington, D.C.-based rating and review platform, which says its survey of 401 consumers in February found that 92% of them are concerned about the influence online scams have on their purchases. It’s not just suspicion about scams, it’s actual losses, with 56% saying they had been scammed while shopping online and, within this group, 42% were scammed in the past year.

“These findings show that scams are not isolated incidents. They are becoming part of the everyday online shopping experience,” says Anna Peck, a Clutch analyst.

Addressing these scams and their potential e-commerce impact will take a multifold response. “Our data shows that consumers want brands to monitor [and] remove fake ads (67%), work more closely with platforms (55%), educate consumers about common scams (51%), and clearly communicate with official shopping channels (50%),” Peck says in an email to Digital Transactions News.

Clutch’s data found that 61% of consumers consider platforms—defined by Clutch as social-media networks, marketplaces, and search engines—as the entities most responsible for preventing e-commerce scams.

Thirty-three percent of consumers say they see scams on social-media platforms, making this online venue the most common channel for exposure, Clutch says. Others are email, 18%, and online marketplaces, 16%.

“About 40% of consumers surveyed think that all of those platforms are vulnerable to e-commerce scams. To best prevent these online scams, platforms can vet their sellers, focus on working with well-known brands, and use more secure payment methods,” Peck says.

Payments provider have a role, too. “Payment providers can work closely with brands to protect consumers by having secure payment portals, improving their reporting and customer support, and clearly communicating their messaging,” Peck says.

Clutch says consumers are reacting to the threat by cross-checking reviews across multiple platforms, verifying seller credentials, reviewing return policies, and choosing more secure payment methods.