First party fraud management: framework for the retail industry

Purpose – First party fraud in which consumers commit fraud against retailers is a growing problem. Research in this area is very limited which means that there is almost no guidance available to mitigate this problem. Existing fraud management frameworks focus on the management of other fraud, such as identity theft or employee instigated fraud. Due to the different nature of these frauds, these frameworks do not adequately address first party fraud. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to propose an adapted version of the fraud management lifecycle framework which is specific to first party fraud management.

Design/methodology/approach – The authors conducted a systematic literature review and compared/contrasted a number of existing fraud management frameworks in related domains to see which one would be most suitable for first party fraud management.

Findings – The authors found Wilhelm’s fraud management framework the most promising for adaptation and application to the first party fraud context. By modifying an existing framework according to the contextual requirements, the authors make the framework much more relevant to first party fraud management.

Practical implications – The framework could help retail managers better understand and manage this growing business problem and open new streams for further research.
Originality/value – This research also makes an important contribution by proposing a framework and by helping bridge a glaring and problematic gap in existing literature and opening up new streams of research.