A 2025 study found that the largest share of fraud losses suffered by U.S. online merchants was due to third-party identity fraud/synthetic identity fraud, which involves the creation of false identities for fraudulent purposes. Friendly fraud, a practice where consumers make a purchase and later request a refund, ranked second, followed by fraudulent requests for returns.
Types of fraud causing the most losses to e-commerce merchants in the United States in 2025, by customer journey stage
487 risk and fraud executives in retail and e-commerce**
Special properties
Risk and fraud executives in retail and e-commerce
Supplementary notes
*According to the source, data collection occurred during late 2024 and early 2025.
**Only e-commerce risk and fraud executives were considered.
The figures do not include internal or employee fraud.
This question was phrased by the source as follows: "Now, continue to think about these three customer journey phases separately and your organization’s fraud losses during the past 12 months. For each specific customer journey stage, please indicate the percentage distribution of your past 12-month’s fraud losses across the following fraud methods. Please estimate to the best of your knowledge."
Percentage points exceeding 100 percent are probably due to rounding.
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LexisNexis. (March 12, 2025). Types of fraud causing the most losses to e-commerce merchants in the United States in 2025, by customer journey stage [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved May 04, 2025, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1297173/fraud-losses-online-merchants-us-type/
LexisNexis. "Types of fraud causing the most losses to e-commerce merchants in the United States in 2025, by customer journey stage." Chart. March 12, 2025. Statista. Accessed May 04, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1297173/fraud-losses-online-merchants-us-type/
LexisNexis. (2025). Types of fraud causing the most losses to e-commerce merchants in the United States in 2025, by customer journey stage. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: May 04, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1297173/fraud-losses-online-merchants-us-type/
LexisNexis. "Types of Fraud Causing The Most Losses to E-commerce Merchants in The United States in 2025, by Customer Journey Stage." Statista, Statista Inc., 12 Mar 2025, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1297173/fraud-losses-online-merchants-us-type/
LexisNexis, Types of fraud causing the most losses to e-commerce merchants in the United States in 2025, by customer journey stage Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1297173/fraud-losses-online-merchants-us-type/ (last visited May 04, 2025)
Types of fraud causing the most losses to e-commerce merchants in the United States in 2025, by customer journey stage [Graph], LexisNexis, March 12, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1297173/fraud-losses-online-merchants-us-type/
