fraud

New research from verification platform Sumsub shows that the proportion of deepfakes in North America more than doubled from 2022 to Q1 2023.

The proportion of deepfakes jumped from 0.2 percent to 2.6 percent in the US and from 0.1 percent to 4.6 percent in Canada, respectively. Simultaneously, printed forgeries, which represented four to five percent of all fraud in 2022, dropped to zero percent in the last quarter.

The number of deepfake videos online is increasing at an annual rate of 900 percent according to the World Economic Forum.

In the light of this Kaspersky researchers have revealed the top three fraud schemes using deepfakes that people should be aware of.

A wave of credential stuffing, with no attempt to use the accounts. A pause. The accounts are accessed but not leveraged. A pause. Then, a flood of transaction fraud, using either the taken-over accounts or new ones set up with similar personal information.

The catch: The stages of this process may occur days or weeks apart. And they may not all take place on the same websites. What’s happening, and how does bot detection and analysis help clarify and prevent fraud? 

Deepfake fraud is on the rise, with 37 percent of organizations experiencing voice fraud and 29 percent falling victim to deepfake videos, according to a survey by identity verification specialist Regula.

Fake biometric artifacts like deepfake voice or video are perceived as real threats by 80 percent of companies, with businesses in the USA most concerned, about 91 percent of organizations considering them to be a growing threat.

Cybercriminals and fraudsters have long relied on a dark web community to exchange information on vulnerable businesses and individuals as well as trading fraud-as-a-service schemes.

In an effort to turn the tables, Sift is launching a new online community called 'Sifters' to allow its customers to learn from, interact with, and share information with each other, including on any emerging fraud threats they encounter.

Insider attacks including fraud, sabotage, and data theft, plague nearly three quarters (71 percent) of US businesses, according to Capterra's 2023 Insider Threats Survey.

Perhaps unsurprisingly companies that allow excessive data access are much more likely to report falling victim to insider attacks. However, only 57 percent of companies limit data appropriately while 31 percent allow employees access to more data than necessary and 12 percent allow employees access to all company data.

Business Email Compromise attacks increased dramatically last year with a 72 percent rise year-on-year over 2021.

The 2023 Email Security Threat Report from Armorblox shows high volumes of language-based and socially engineered attacks targeting organizations of all sizes and across industries.

The financial technology (fintech) industry is a rapidly expanding web of innovation, but it is also becoming increasingly entangled by challenges posed by cybercriminals. These bad actors threaten both data security and regulatory compliance, which can result in heavy fines for noncompliance.

Such fines pose a significant risk for entrepreneurs seeking to quickly scale their operations, as they cannot afford to be bogged down by regulatory issues. Even established businesses find it challenging to navigate the complex layers of financial regulations, let alone startups.

According to a new report, 17 percent of consumers have encountered online offers to commit payment fraud, a symptom of fraud's increasing accessibility and democratization among everyday internet users.

What's more the study from Sift shows 16 percent of consumers admit to having committed, or knowing of someone who has taken part in, payment fraud.

The requirements and standards for information security are continuously being enhanced and revised, driven by various external factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the rising expertise of cyber attackers. As a result of this cyber arms race, novel methods and vectors of attacks are emerging. In addition, an increasing number of people in the world are utilizing mobile devices and other remote work means.

This poses additional security challenges. Implementing antifraud systems in financial institutions can considerably mitigate the impact of both traditional and new types of fraudulent schemes.

New research from Kasada shows a 50 percent jump in bad bot activity during Black Friday week, with bot operators using customized open-source development tools, headless browsers, and new Solver Services to conduct their attacks at scale.

The report also shows a six times spike in automated gift card lookups this holiday shopping season, a key indicator that fraudsters are using bots to identify and steal gift card balances.

A new report reveals that 'less sophisticated' fraud -- in which doctored identity documents are readily spotted -- has jumped 37 percent in 2022.

The report from Onfido also shows that while in 2019 fraudsters tended to keep regular office hours, in 2022, fraud levels were consistent across 24 hours, seven days a week. Thanks to technology, fraudsters are more connected across the globe and are able to traverse regions and time zones, and can easily take advantage of businesses’ closed hours when staff are likely offline.

Ransomware accounts for 23 percent of cyber insurance claims, while while fraudulent funds transfer (FFT) accounts for 28 percent according to insurance specialist Corvus, which has released its latest Risk Insights Index.

The impact and consistency of FFT is growing, accounting for 36 percent of all claims in the last quarter (Q3 2022), an all-time high. Indeed this metric has not dropped below 25 percent for the past six quarters.

The crypto and banking sectors both experienced a nearly two-fold increase in identity fraud in 2022, according to a new report from verification platform Sumsub.

The report also finds that over half of all fraud cases happened in just five countries: Bangladesh (22 percent), Pakistan (15.2 percent), Vietnam (8.1 percent), Nigeria (5.4 percent) and the USA (5.1 percent).

With International Fraud Awareness Week and the holiday shopping season officially underway, analysts and retailers are diving into customers’ shopping habits. But it’s not just legitimate customers retailers need to be aware of, as fraudsters are just as keen on holiday shopping -- and they're already hitting online stores. 

Here are some of the top trends I'm seeing as we enter the peak of the holiday shopping season.