Attempted online fraud on Black Friday - the day after Thanksgiving and one of the US's busiest shopping days - was up 40% on the previous year, according to Retail Decisions (ReD).
Card issuer and fraud prevention vendor ReD says its online retail clients not only saw a sharp increase in attempted fraudulent activity but also a spike in the value of these attempts to an average of $248, up on last year by 25%.
Would-be fraudsters' favourite items were virtual gift cards, Givenchy perfume, Lancome and Estee Lauder cosmetics.
Carl Clump, CEO, Retail Decisions, says: "Retailers are being hit from all angles, with the economic downturn accompanied by an increase in attempted fraud. The damage from online fraud can be extensive to businesses, and its' reputation as well as hitting the bottom-line hard."
According to Web metrics firm comScore, online spending on Black Thursday was up just one per cent on the previous year, at $534 million. In contrast, 'Cyber Monday' saw $846 million in online spending, up 15% on 2007, making it the second busiest day on record behind 'Green Monday' 2007.