How to Understand Online Fraud Strategies

Being in the fraud prevention industry gives me an insider’s view of how fraud attacks work - including seeing new patterns emerge. Here are recent insights on how fraudsters are increasingly targeting people to take control of their bank accounts and initiate unauthorized wire transfers. 📞 The Phone Call Scam: Scammers exploit the vulnerability in PSTN to spoof caller IDs, making it seem like the call is coming from a trusted bank. A number of well-known VoIP providers make this possible. 🔓 Remote Access: Once they establish contact, scammers mention there is some suspicious activity or other important reason behind their call. They then persuade victims to install remote desktop applications like AnyDesk, or to turn on WhatsApp or Skype's screen sharing. This allows them to access banking apps and initiate transfers. This helps them to intercept login data and one-time passcodes. Banks also don't insure against such scams, leaving victims exposed. 🤖 AI in Voice Scams: Imagine combining voice recognition with GPT-based text-to-speech technology. Scammers scale their operations massively, this is a future risk we must prepare for now. So what proactive measures can banks and digital wallets take? 1. Customer Education: Many banks already do this; keeping their customers informed about official communication channels and the importance of calling back through their verified numbers. 2. One-Time Passcodes for Payments: OTPs aren’t just for logins but also useful for transactions, with detailed payment information included. 3. Being On a Call During Transactions: The top FinTechs are already looking into, or developing technology to detect if a customer is on a call (phone, WhatsApp, Skype) during banking activities. 4. Detect Remote Access: Implement detection mechanisms for any remote access protocol usage during banking sessions. 5. Behavior and Velocity-Based Rules: Sophisticated monitoring should be used to flag activities in real-time based on unusual behaviour and transaction speed. 6. Device, Browser, and Proxy Monitoring: This is a quick win, as there are many technologies available to flag unusual devices, browsers, and proxy usage that deviates from the customer's norm. 7. Multiple Users on Same Device/IP: Ability to identify and flag multiple customers who are using the same device or IP address in one way to detect bots. 8. Monitoring Bank Drops and Crypto Exchanges: Pay special attention to transactions involving neobanks, crypto exchanges, or other out-of-norm receiving parties, to identify potential fraud. Some of them might not ask for ID and even if they do, it can be easily faked with photoshopped templates. Hope you find that useful, and in the meantime, I’d love to hear what other emerging threats you’ve seen or heard of. Fostering these open conversations is what enables us all to unite together against combating fraud 👊 #FraudPrevention #CyberSecurity #DigitalBanking #ScamAwareness #AIinFraudDetection

Last week, Microsoft released our 2024 Digital Defense Report, a thorough and comprehensive dive into the state of cybersecurity amidst an increasingly complex and challenging threat landscape. So, what does the report tell us about fraud? Here are some important takeaways: Fraud is increasing in both its frequency and impact. In 2023, companies lost an average 1.5% in profits and consumers lost $8.8 billion to scammers – a 30% increase from the previous year. What is 1.5% of your profits? Cyber-enabled financial fraud is a persistent and evolving threat, with investment scams accounting for more than $4.5 billion in losses in 2023. Microsoft continues to work with industry partners and law enforcement to share intelligence, dismantle cybercrime operations, and bring cybercriminals to justice. E-commerce fraud is on the rise, with scammers employing generative AI and sophisticated methods like web interface breaches, phishing, spoofing, and synthetic identity creation to exploit online payment vulnerabilities. Phishing remains a top threat, with Business Email Compromise (BEC) the favored mode of attack. QR code phishing attacks are increasing and evolving, presenting new challenges for security teams. AI-generated synthetic content, or “deepfakes” and domain spoofing are making impersonation-based threats harder to detect, which will require organizations to shore up their identity verification solutions. Techscam activity increased twelvefold in the past year, outpacing the rise of both malware and phishing. At Microsoft, we are in the process of making updates in our QuickAssist app to curb its misuse for tech support scams. More on that here: https://lnkd.in/g-U5TXkz Microsoft researchers are also developing an AI model to detect, identify, and mitigate techscam threats more quickly. Account takeovers present a growing threat to businesses, but many of these attempts can be thwarted by implementing basic account security measures, like multifactor authentication (MFA). (Yup, tackling this at Microsoft too! https://lnkd.in/gSYVgmHW) You know I want to make your life easier – you can find the fraud section on pages 32-39 of the report to learn more. Of course, I also encourage you to read the rest of the report for valuable insights on nation-state threats, ransomware, social engineering, and DDoS attacks, along with case studies and best practices for creating a security-first organization and bolstering your defenses in the age of AI. Download the full Digital Defense Report here: https://lnkd.in/g_rpC5QN #MicrosoftSecurity #Cybersecurity #Fraud #Cybercrime #ThreatIntelligence

🚨 ALERT: $1.6 Mn Stolen Through Payment Gateway Manipulation - Is Your Fintech Vulnerable? 🚨 A recent case involving Navi Technologies highlights the critical need for robust fraud prevention measures. The company was defrauded of ₹14.26 crore due to a loophole in a third-party payment gateway, which allowed users to edit transaction amounts post-payment. This incident underscores the importance of both technical and operational safeguards. How can such frauds be prevented? 🔍 Technical Measures: 👉 Implement anomaly detection systems to flag unusual transaction patterns in real-time. 👉 Enforce immutable transaction records to prevent unauthorized edits. 👉 Regularly audit and test payment gateways for vulnerabilities. 🛡️ Operational Measures: 👉 Establish multi-layered approval processes for high-risk transactions. 👉 Conduct employee and customer awareness programs to identify and report suspicious activities. 👉 Collaborate with law enforcement and cybersecurity experts to stay ahead of emerging threats. Fraud prevention is not just a technical challenge but also an operational one. By combining advanced technology with the right processes, businesses can safeguard themselves against such incidents. Let's learn from this and build a more secure digital ecosystem! 💡 #FraudPrevention #CyberSecurity #AnomalyDetection #BusinessResilience https://lnkd.in/dW96ejyR