Fraud survey insights: What surprised us most from the first annual benchmarking report
Today we are talking about fraud survey insights and why this first annual benchmarking report felt like such a big moment for the fraud industry.
I sat down with Shoshana Maraney to kick off a two-part conversation about the first annual Fraudology benchmarking survey for ecommerce fraud prevention. This is something I had wanted to create for a long time because fraud leaders need more than opinions and isolated anecdotes. We need better benchmarks, better language for leadership conversations, and better data to help teams understand where they are, what is changing, and what good really looks like.
What made this project different is that it was built intentionally to be useful. That meant asking better questions, working with the right partners, and making sure the survey was statistically relevant enough to actually matter. It also meant making the report accessible so fraud leaders could use it without a paywall getting in the way. That part mattered to me a lot.
And that matters.
Because fraud survey insights are only useful if people can trust them and actually use them. This episode gets into what surprised Shoshana and me most, what the respondent data says about fraud program maturity, and how the industry seems to be moving through several distinct stages of fraud strategy evolution all at once.
What you’ll hear in this episode:
- Why this ecommerce fraud survey was designed differently from many industry reports that came before it
- What fraud survey insights surprised Shoshana and me most in the benchmarking data
- How 500-plus respondents helped shape a more credible picture of fraud industry trends
- What the results reveal about fraud program maturity and the transitional states many companies are in
- Why better benchmarking fraud metrics can improve fraud leadership communication and decision-making
You should listen to this episode if you:
- Lead fraud, risk, or payments teams and want stronger fraud leadership benchmarks
- Need more credible fraud benchmarking data to support internal conversations
- Care about fraud prevention best practices and how other ecommerce fraud leaders are approaching them
- Want better context around fraud team resources, fraud program maturity, and merchant fraud challenges
- Work in ecommerce or B2C fintech and need practical fraud survey insights tied to real industry change
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Episode notes & key takeaways
Why this fraud survey was built to be different
Let’s break this down.
One of the most important parts of this conversation is the intention behind the survey itself. I have wanted for a long time to create something that would actually help fraud leaders do their jobs better and also help them explain their work more clearly to leadership and other departments. That meant this could not just be another surface-level poll with vague conclusions. It needed to produce useful fraud benchmarking data that people could trust.
That is why the structure behind the project mattered so much. Forter sponsored the work while respecting editorial autonomy. Channel Research ensured the methodology was statistically relevant. Shoshana helped co-write the questions and the report. And more than 500 respondents contributed real-world perspective. All of that created a much stronger foundation for meaningful fraud survey insights.
Here is what is actually changing:
- Fraud survey insights become more useful when the methodology is credible and intentional
- Fraud benchmarking data has more value when it is built to answer practical leadership questions
- Fraud leadership communication improves when teams can point to reliable industry benchmarks
- Ecommerce fraud survey results matter more when they reflect real operational experience
What surprised us most in the results
Here’s what’s actually happening.
A big part of this episode is simply talking through the results that caught us off guard. Some sections surprised one of us more than the other, and some surprised both of us until we sat with the answers and thought more deeply about what might be driving them. That is part of what made this discussion so valuable. The surprises were not just interesting. They pointed to deeper truths about fraud industry trends and the way teams are adapting.
This is where fraud survey insights really shine. They do not just confirm what everyone already knows. They also surface tension, inconsistency, and unexpected patterns that force people to think more carefully. That is exactly what good benchmarking should do. It should help fraud leaders move past assumptions and look more clearly at what is happening across the market.
- Fraud industry trends are not always as straightforward as they first appear
- Benchmarking fraud metrics can reveal patterns teams may not have expected
- Merchant fraud challenges often look different once broader data is available
- Fraud leadership benchmarks are more valuable when they challenge assumptions, not just confirm them
What the survey says about fraud program maturity
One of the most useful ideas in this episode is the concept that the industry is moving through three distinct transitional states when it comes to fraud prevention and revenue retention. That framing really helps explain why teams can look so different from one another even when they are all trying to solve similar problems.
Some companies are still very reactive. Some are in a more operationally mature stage. Others are trying to evolve toward a broader business view that balances protection with customer experience and revenue. That range says a lot about fraud program maturity and about how fraud strategy evolution is unfolding across ecommerce and B2C fintech.
- Fraud program maturity varies widely even among companies facing similar risks
- Fraud industry transition is happening in multiple stages, not one clean shift
- Fraud strategy evolution often reflects how leadership views fraud inside the business
- B2C fintech fraud insights and ecommerce patterns can help teams better understand their own stage
Why this data helps fraud leaders communicate better
This is the part I care about a lot. Fraud leaders often know what needs attention, but they do not always have the language or the benchmarks to make the case internally. That is one of the biggest reasons this report matters. It gives people data they can use to educate leadership, request resources, and explain why fraud deserves a more strategic conversation.
Better fraud leadership communication does not start with louder opinions. It starts with stronger evidence. When teams have reliable benchmarking fraud metrics and clearer fraud survey insights, it becomes easier to talk about priorities, justify investments, and align fraud team resources with actual business needs.
- Fraud leadership communication gets stronger when leaders have credible external benchmarks
- Fraud team resources are easier to justify when backed by industry data
- Fraud prevention best practices become easier to explain when trends are measurable
- Actionable fraud survey insights can help teams educate the broader business more effectively
The big takeaway from this episode is pretty simple. Fraud survey insights are most valuable when they help leaders see the industry more clearly and talk about their own work more effectively. This first benchmarking report does exactly that. It highlights surprises, shows where the market is shifting, and gives fraud teams better context for where they are today and where they may need to go next.
