Air, Food, Water, Shelter, Internet — and Fraud?

The birth of digital payments helped usher in extensive financial and societal changes: speed and convenience, retailers that don’t require brick and mortar (hi, Amazon), and simplified international transactions, to name a few. But also the elephant in the room … fraud.

It’s been a cat-and-mouse game ever since.

Whenever the payment networks innovate to better secure online transactions, so do the fraudsters. 

Plenty of consumers now believe fraud is simply a cost of the digital economy. It’s roughly a 50/50 split among those who accept and reject this premise, according to a new survey by the card-issuing platform Marqeta. 

The sentiment isn’t too surprising if you consider the loud yawns that follow many announcements of data breaches these days.

The survey, which was conducted with 4,000 consumers in the U.S. and U.K. to understand their attitudes and experiences with fraud, also found a mixed bag in terms of where consumers place the blame. It was another roughly 50/50 split among consumers who think protecting against fraud is a personal responsibility vs. one that lies with their banks.

Consumers acknowledged they’re not paying close enough attention to their cards and transactions, and not acting fast enough when they identify fraud has taken place.

The new data is interesting, especially when you consider the massive leap in digital transactions taking place during the past couple of months, as much of the world has been sheltering in place.