Marqeta 2021 fraud survey plumbs consumer attitudes

Today we released our new 2021 Fraud Report that highlights consumer attitudes toward fraud one year after COVID-19 hit, accelerating the use of digital payments. In partnership with Propeller Insights, we surveyed 2,000 consumers from the U.S. and the U.K. and discovered how consumers are feeling in our increasingly digital post-pandemic lives.

Our report had some clear takeaways:

Consumer anxiety about fraud soars throughout COVID-19

Our report shows that consumer worry about fraud has risen to extreme levels: 65% of consumers surveyed said they were more concerned about fraud than before COVID-19 hit. Sixty-seven percent of consumers surveyed said they think shopping online during COVID-19 has put them at a higher risk of fraud.

Younger consumers were impacted the most by fraud during the pandemic

Additionally, we found that the younger generation of consumers was the most impacted, and also introduced to fraud at exponentially higher rates. Sixty-nine percent of respondents in this age group who reported having been victims of fraud said they were affected within the last 12 months, compared to 48% of total respondents, making them 40% more likely to be impacted by fraud in the last 12 months. Almost two-thirds of younger respondents (64%) said they were victims for the first time in the last 12 months, compared to 48% of total respondents.

Consumers are looking to their banks to provide stronger fraud prevention controls

However, even as consumer worry about fraud spiked over the last year, consumers have stayed nonchalant about protecting themselves. Fifty-seven percent of respondents admitted they could do more to protect their payment information. However, the majority of consumers (63%) also believe their banks should be able to better detect and prevent fraud.

As people continue to shop online and anxieties about fraud continue to grow, how will banks and payments innovators respond to the growing opportunity to offer stronger protection against fraud?

Read the full report here.