Did you know fraud costs U.S. merchants $4.61 for every $1 lost? In this episode of the eCom Ops Podcast, Norbert talks with Maanas Godugunur, Senior Director of Fraud and Identity at LexisNexis Risk Solutions, about the growing threat of fraud in eCommerce and how businesses can fight back without sacrificing customer trust.
About
Maanas Godugunur is the Senior Director of Fraud and Identity at LexisNexis Risk Solutions, where he leads growth strategies for eCommerce and payments across U.S. and international markets.
With more than 15 years of experience in product management, B2B payments, and risk solutions, Maanas has built fraud detection systems using behavioral biometrics, machine learning, and device analytics. His background includes roles at Deloitte and Capgemini, where he launched a B2B payment platform in India that generated more than $120M in its first year and scaled cross-border payments by $2B.
LexisNexis Risk Solutions has a clear mission: use data for good. For over 20 years, the company has helped industries worldwide combat fraud, verify identities, and establish trust with customers.
By combining advanced analytics, AI, and one of the largest fraud intelligence networks globally, LexisNexis Risk Solutions supports businesses in sectors like financial services, retail, eCommerce, insurance, and government. Their fraud prevention tools cover everything from account opening and logins to checkout, giving merchants a multi-layered defense against both professional fraudsters and policy abuse.
The Key Takeaways
Fraud Costs Keep Climbing
- Fraud now costs U.S. merchants $4.61 for every single $1 lost. That figure shocked even seasoned experts like Maanas and highlights how unsustainable the situation is.
- What’s even more surprising is that many merchants still throw people at the problem, relying on manual reviews instead of scalable technology.
Refund Fraud Is Everywhere
- According to Maanas, refund fraud is “a big issue.” Customers place orders, receive them, and then claim the item never arrived or was damaged. Sometimes they even send back a fake return, like a postcard, and still get their money back.
- This trend is fueled by policies that merchants introduced during COVID to improve customer experience, but fraudsters and opportunistic abusers quickly learned how to exploit them.
Digital Wallets and Mobile Payments Under Fire
- Fraudsters follow the customers. As shoppers move to mobile and digital wallets, so do fraud attacks.
- Maanas explained that adding a new channel or payment method often reduces the amount of data a merchant can collect. That creates blind spots fraudsters exploit.
Fraud Prevention as a Growth Strategy
- Fraud isn’t just about blocking bad actors; it’s about protecting good customers. As Maanas put it, “If you have the right strategies in place, it should actually help you enhance the experience and flip and increase revenue.”
- A layered, API-driven approach ensures fraud controls improve loyalty and revenue instead of creating customer churn.
Resources Mentioned
- LexisNexis Risk Solutions — Fraud and Identity Solutions
- Stripe Fraud Radar
- Square
- Shopify
- Amazon (Marketplace)
- PayPal, P2P Payments, Zelle
Conclusion
Fraud in eCommerce isn’t just about stolen cards or chargebacks; it’s a costly cycle that drains revenue, damages customer trust, and slows growth. As Maanas Godugunur explained, merchants can no longer rely on manual processes or outdated tools. Instead, fraud prevention must be treated as a business enabler, where layered signals, predictive AI, and global intelligence work together to protect loyal customers while keeping fraudsters out. This episode shows that with the right approach, fraud defense can shift from being a cost center to a growth strategy.
The No.1 eCom Operations hack
“If you have the right strategies in place, it should actually help you enhance the experience and flip and increase revenue.”
