Bernardo Lustosa, Ph.D.
Why is ecommerce fraud more prevalent in some countries than in others? Ecommerce merchants, law enforcement agents, and fraud protection providers wrestle with this question as they seek ways to make the online marketplace safer for merchants and legitimate customers. Decades of research into the behaviour of fraudsters and thieves have uncovered the interplay between individual circumstances, economic setting, and societal norms that lead to a rise in fraud. Merchants who wonder why risk varies by location or who wonder when, if ever, online fraud will cease to be a problem need to understand what’s called the “fraud triangle.”
The fraud triangle The fraud triangle, developed by American criminologist Donald Cressey in the 1950s, is an enduring model for risk assessment and management. Each “side” of the fraud triangle represents one of the three factors that increase the likelihood of unethical and fraudulent behaviours in a given situation: pressure, opportunity, and rationalisation. [To continue reading please click here].
