Sep 2018 | Fraud Prevention
By Posted by Charlie Connor

Fraudsters are always developing new ways to attack businesses and customers

In this shifting landscape, you need to fully understand those emerging fraud threats, and deploy multi-layered security solutions to counter them.

Online and mobile services have transformed the way you interact with your customers. It’s now possible to deliver faster, more convenient, more engaging experiences than ever. But the same technologies can also create loopholes for hackers and other cybercriminals looking to commit fraud.

In this complex landscape, with a multitude of customer access channels and devices, coupled with increasing fraudster ingenuity, it’s vital that you reassess your fraud prevention strategy for strong, frontline fraud defences.

Based on the Experian Guide ‘Rising threat of fraud’, this blog explores some of the top fraud threats currently impacting organisations. It also provides an initial checklist for your fraud detection and prevention strategy.

1. Fluid attack methods

Our research reveals increasingly fluid fraud attacks, ranging from stolen identities to account takeovers and personalised phishing scams. To combat this wide range of threats, organisations need multi-layered fraud solutions that integrate sophisticated identity, authentication and behavioural biometrics capabilities.

2. Omni- channel fraud attacks

Today, customers and fraudsters alike hop between channels in a heartbeat, making it more difficult to spot fraudulent activity. In this environment, effective fraud prevention depends on a single view of the customer and the entire customer journey, irrespective of how many channels or devices are involved.

3. Less predictable customer behaviour

With customers now using multiple devices and access channels, and trying out mobile apps, abnormal behaviour is no longer a reliable indicator of fraud. This makes it harder to spot fraud and requires more sophisticated analysis of behavioural biometrics data, including the customer’s location, the device they’re using, and ‘out of character’ transactions and requests.

4. Increasing account takeover fraud

Our research shows rising incidences of account takeovers, where fraudsters take control of a genuine customer’s account for their own ends. To combat this, traditional security controls – including password access, which can be weak– must be replaced with more sophisticated digital identity and authentication solutions.

5. Fast-growing fraud threats

As security solutions evolve, fraudsters constantly create new types of fraud that aim to side-step them. In fact, fraudsters are known to exploit technology to their advantage, often adapting to new technology faster than customers can. Some of the newer types of fraud that continue to grow rapidly include:

  • Man-in-the-middle or man-in-the-browser attacks

where criminals take over a genuine customer’s device to commit fraud, thereby side-stepping device identification and authentication defences.

  • Use of mules

where a person, known as a mule, willingly gives their identity to a fraudster to commit a crime, such as taking out a mobile phone contract and then cashing in the phone.

  • Social engineering fraud – including phishing

where criminals use personal information available in the public domain, such as social media profiles, to create elaborate, highly personalised phishing scams.

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) attacks

which can be used, for example, to commit ‘machine-to-machine‘ fraud where AI bots disrupt production processes, or to submit thousands of fraudulent account applications.

Tackling all of the fraud threats featured in this blog demands multi-layered fraud detection and prevention solutions. These are designed to analyse operational and customer data from a range of sources – from transactional systems, to records of customers’ access preferences.

By creating a single view of customers including their transactions across multiple channels and typical customer behaviours, multi-layered fraud solutions can enable effective, timely fraud detection and prevention. Only this can help you to protect your business, your customers and – ultimately – reduce your fraud losses.

For more information on emerging fraud threats and how to tackle them, download our white paper, Experian Guide, Rising threat of fraud and visit our YouTube channel with a variety of identity and fraud specific content.

To find out how Experian’s multi-layered fraud solutions can help your business protect against fraud, please contact us at GTMContactus@experian.com, or visit our identity and fraud solutions webpage.