International Fraud Prevention Week: Why You Should Educate Yourself About Fraud
Did you know that International Fraud Prevention Week is a global initiative aimed at raising awareness of the risks of fraud?
This annual campaign, held November 17-23, 2024, is the perfect opportunity to learn more about the threats you might encounter, especially as fraudsters increasingly targeting consumers rather than technology. They’re using ever more advanced tactics to exploit vulnerabilities. So, what should you know about fraud and how to protect against it?
Online fraud has surged dramatically since the COVID-19 pandemic. indicates that the number of digital fraud attempts increased by a staggering 80% between 2019 and 2022. In the United States alone, a total of 2.6 million consumers reported fraud in 2023. Globally, the numbers are equally alarming.
Did you know? Up to 3 in 10 Colombians have experienced digital fraud.
The Weakest Link is the Individual
Why are fraudsters becoming more successful? As banks and payment services providers (PSPs) enhance their security systems, fraudsters have switched their focus to the weakest link in the chain – the customer. They employ advanced social engineering tactics to commit online fraud, exploiting people’s psychology and vulnerabilities to access sensitive information or money.
Did you know? Social engineering is as old as humanity. A classic example from history is a Trojan horse gifted to Troy by Greeks only to breach the city’s defenses.
Beware of Impersonation
One of the fastest-growing fraud types is impersonation, a scam where the fraudsters pretend to be a trusted person or institution (such as a bank or government body, but it can also be a family member or friend). They usually require the transfer of money or some other act to gain access to the victim’s confidential information or finances.
Did you know? In the United States, impersonation was the most common type of fraud in 2023. In South Africa, the number of impersonation cases increased by a full 356% from April 2022 to April 2023.
The Problem of Authorized Payments
Closely related to impersonation scams is authorized push payment (APP) fraud. This occurs when individuals are deceived into authorizing the transfer of funds from their account to a scammer’s. Of course, authorized payments are much harder to detect as fraudulent, which is why fraudsters so frequently exploit them.
Did you know? In the UK, APP fraud had a 40% share of fraud losses in 2022.
Are you at risk?
You might think you’re too savvy to fall for a scam, but scammers constantly adapt, using new techniques to exploit vulnerabilities. This means that virtually everyone is at risk of fraud. As a consumer, the only reliable protection you can undertake is to educate yourself, be cautious, and listen to the warnings of the authorities that are involved in prevention, such as banks or government bodies.
Financial institutions, of course, play an important role in fraud prevention since they possess more resources and capabilities to combat fraud while also needing to protect their customers’ assets and trust. Luckily, there are solutions and technologies to safeguard customers even from modern types of fraud, such as APP scams.
Did you know? Starting October 2024, the UK victims of APP fraud will be reimbursed under new liability rules.
Read more about The Liability Landscape
Behavior as the Telling Factor
At ThreatMark, we develop comprehensive fraud prevention solutions based on behavioral intelligence. Our unique technology analyzes not only session and device information but also user-specific behaviors, creating a trusted user profile. When an anomaly occurs, the system can thus identify and catch it before the threat escalates.
This is very effective specifically in the case of APP fraud. ThreatMark’s solution can detect that a user’s behavior is not typical, e.g. there are anomalies in the use of the app, swiping, mouse strokes, or other. If a user is acting under the influence of a fraudster, their behavior changes. It is these small nuances that can detect the threat and prevent the transaction in time.
Empower your defenses this International Fraud Prevention Week and explore ThreatMark’s anti-fraud solution.