Ahead of Boxing Day; 1 in 4 online 'shoppers' in the UK is a bot, new study finds.
LONDON, Dec. 16, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A new study published today by global Cybersecurity firm CHEQ, revealed that 23.59% of direct eCommerce internet traffic in the UK is made up of bots and fake users. This puts the UK at almost double the average rate of fake traffic in the EMEA region, which stands at 12%. The study was conducted across thousands of UK sites, running real-time tests and validation challenges on website visitors, to determine their authenticity. The research uncovered that nearly one in four direct website visits originated from inauthentic sources, including botnets, malicious scrapers and crawlers, fake accounts, and other types of Invalid Traffic (IVT). The data was released as part of a broader report on the global scale and impact of fake internet traffic.
With £1.2 billion expected to be spent online this coming Boxing Day, CHEQ estimates that the financial impact of fake traffic on that day alone could range from £150-200 million in damages, from eCommerce fraud to carding attacks, data breaches and lost marketing spend.
"Highly active eCommerce markets are always a target for bots, scammers, fraudsters and other forms of malicious and automated activities" said CHEQ's CEO, Guy Tytunoivch, "So we're not shocked at the numbers. Coupled with the fact that bots and fake users continue to make up a larger and larger portion of global web traffic, it makes sense that we're seeing such numbers in a leading market like the UK."
Studies have shown over recent years that the internet is increasingly made up of bot traffic, taking a heavy toll on online business, including an estimated $20 billion lost to eCommerce fraud and $22 billion lost in marketing and advertising costs.
Media Contact:
Kerry Coppinger
kerry.c@cheq.ai
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