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Fraudsters never stop their fraudulent attacks on businesses. Every area is at risk: advertising campaigns, personal data of clients, reputation and, most importantly, finances. To effectively protect your digital products from fraudsters, you need to use modern technologies and cyber defense tactics.
In this article, we will cover ten emerging fraud trends in 2024, the methods cybercriminals use to carry out attacks, and the ways you can protect your business.
Contents
1. Automation
2. Account hijacking
3. Implementation of new types of online payments
4. Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Fraud and Customer Relationships
5. The rise of synthetic digital personalities
6. Growing damage from fraud
7. The need for multi-level fraud assessment
8. Targeted attacks
9. Real-time risk assessment
10. Account protection
Automation increases fraud. Without it, the same tasks would be much slower to perform manually.
For example, automated click fraud involves using special software called clickbots to generate fake clicks on ads and interact with content on target sites.
Unlike manual click fraud, automated click fraud is designed to click on ads in a short period of time and imitate human behavior, hiding fraudulent activity.
Attackers can scale their attacks and use not just clickbots, but entire botnets to click away ad campaigns. They can consist of hundreds of thousands and millions of infected machines, united into a single network. This is one of the most advanced click fraud methods, which is not so easy to resist.
To do this, fraudsters resort to phishing attacks, malware distribution, brute-force password cracking, and also take advantage of database leaks. Organizations are most susceptible to such automated attacks. Account hacking can lead to bank fraud, money laundering, theft of bonus and gift points, and also entails direct financial losses.
Cryptocurrencies, although not widely used, are gaining popularity and the anonymity they provide makes it easier for criminals to carry out illegal activities.
This approach allows you to achieve the right balance, improve customer service and reduce fraud risks. In the case of online shopping, the number of problems that customers encounter during the checkout process directly depends on the successful achievement of conversion.
Scalability, stealth, and virality make this type of fraud a global problem. Today, fraud using artificial identities accounts for 85% of all fraud types.
To combat artificial digital identities, companies use several methods and approaches. They resort to analyzing additional data, data from government information systems and public data, and apply software solutions and cybersecurity systems.
According to experts, losses from fraud (in total, not just click fraud) worldwide amount to $5.4 trillion. In Russia, according to the Central Bank, cyber fraudsters stole 15.8 billion rubles in the banking sector alone in 2023. According to marketing and cybersecurity experts, the damage from advertising fraud will increase to $172 billion by 2028.
Why does the damage continue to grow? It’s all about the increased number of online purchases and payments, as well as the development of popular messengers.
On the other hand, leading companies that create fraud prevention systems are trying to develop new technologies to protect companies from fraudsters. To achieve the best results, they combine modern technologies (AI, machine learning, Big Data), risk signals, customer data.
Installing multi-layered cybersecurity systems can reduce fraud and improve user experience.
But targeted doesn’t mean more visible. While these attacks typically occur at the level of a single company and don’t target specific consumers, they do put customer information at risk and can damage a company’s reputation.
With multi-factor authentication, companies use several different steps to verify a user's identity and authorized account access, including behavioral data, device ID, and biometric authentication.
In this article, we will cover ten emerging fraud trends in 2024, the methods cybercriminals use to carry out attacks, and the ways you can protect your business.
Contents
1. Automation
2. Account hijacking
3. Implementation of new types of online payments
4. Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Fraud and Customer Relationships
5. The rise of synthetic digital personalities
6. Growing damage from fraud
7. The need for multi-level fraud assessment
8. Targeted attacks
9. Real-time risk assessment
10. Account protection
1. Automation
Automated scripts and systems enable attackers to carry out quick and sometimes unnoticeable malicious attacks. Using bots, viruses, botnets and other programs, they hack user accounts, click on ads, inflate views and requests, buy goods in online stores, etc.Automation increases fraud. Without it, the same tasks would be much slower to perform manually.
For example, automated click fraud involves using special software called clickbots to generate fake clicks on ads and interact with content on target sites.
Unlike manual click fraud, automated click fraud is designed to click on ads in a short period of time and imitate human behavior, hiding fraudulent activity.
Attackers can scale their attacks and use not just clickbots, but entire botnets to click away ad campaigns. They can consist of hundreds of thousands and millions of infected machines, united into a single network. This is one of the most advanced click fraud methods, which is not so easy to resist.
2. Account hijacking
Account hijacking is the hacking of users' personal accounts in various online systems. Attackers gain access to the credentials of individuals or commercial companies.To do this, fraudsters resort to phishing attacks, malware distribution, brute-force password cracking, and also take advantage of database leaks. Organizations are most susceptible to such automated attacks. Account hacking can lead to bank fraud, money laundering, theft of bonus and gift points, and also entails direct financial losses.
3. Implementation of new types of online payments
Digital payment systems and cryptocurrency platforms provide an opportunity for criminals to hide their fraudulent activities. New payment technologies also open the door to malicious attacks, as cybercriminals can use stolen credentials.Cryptocurrencies, although not widely used, are gaining popularity and the anonymity they provide makes it easier for criminals to carry out illegal activities.
4. Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Fraud and Customer Relationships
Businesses have to balance simplifying the user experience and protecting against fraud across all platforms where the company’s products are presented: web, mobile applications, and points of sale. Business owners are looking for alternative solutions to authenticate users, such as passive behavioral biometrics and passwordless authentication using biometrics that distinguish a real person from a digital reproduction.This approach allows you to achieve the right balance, improve customer service and reduce fraud risks. In the case of online shopping, the number of problems that customers encounter during the checkout process directly depends on the successful achievement of conversion.
5. The rise of synthetic digital personalities
In this type of fraud, fraudsters create personalities by combining stolen data from real users and generating artificial, fake identifiers. For example, a fictitious full name and a profile photo generated in a neural network can be combined with a stolen real email address, which is then used to register accounts on various websites and social networks, and bank card data to commit financial fraud.Scalability, stealth, and virality make this type of fraud a global problem. Today, fraud using artificial identities accounts for 85% of all fraud types.
To combat artificial digital identities, companies use several methods and approaches. They resort to analyzing additional data, data from government information systems and public data, and apply software solutions and cybersecurity systems.
6. Growing damage from fraud
The overall damage from fraud is becoming a matter of genuine concern for businesses. It causes advertisers to lose budget, increases the cost of conversion, and forces companies to hire additional staff and invest in cybersecurity systems.According to experts, losses from fraud (in total, not just click fraud) worldwide amount to $5.4 trillion. In Russia, according to the Central Bank, cyber fraudsters stole 15.8 billion rubles in the banking sector alone in 2023. According to marketing and cybersecurity experts, the damage from advertising fraud will increase to $172 billion by 2028.
Why does the damage continue to grow? It’s all about the increased number of online purchases and payments, as well as the development of popular messengers.
7. The need for multi-level fraud assessment
Digitalization of e-commerce and banking is a well-established trend that shows steady growth. In parallel, the share of fraud is growing. Fraud is becoming a serious problem for these industries.On the other hand, leading companies that create fraud prevention systems are trying to develop new technologies to protect companies from fraudsters. To achieve the best results, they combine modern technologies (AI, machine learning, Big Data), risk signals, customer data.
Installing multi-layered cybersecurity systems can reduce fraud and improve user experience.
8. Targeted attacks
Another threat comes from attacks that criminals launch against the target company’s infrastructure, including its network and computer systems. They can carry out such attacks anonymously and over a long period of time. Their goal is to gain access to the company’s critical data and cause significant damage to the company and its customers.But targeted doesn’t mean more visible. While these attacks typically occur at the level of a single company and don’t target specific consumers, they do put customer information at risk and can damage a company’s reputation.
9. Real-time risk assessment
As traffic on web platforms and mobile applications grows, so does the demand for comprehensive fraud detection, verification and user authentication systems. Such systems require real-time risk assessment using the latest technical tools: artificial intelligence and machine learning. The goal is to increase user trust in the company and its products.10. Account protection
To protect against cybercriminals, companies are forced to take a multi-layered approach to protecting their users' accounts. Malicious attacks are often caused by single-factor authentication methods, which lead to unauthorized access to accounts and theft of personal data, ransomware attacks, and other fraudulent activities.With multi-factor authentication, companies use several different steps to verify a user's identity and authorized account access, including behavioral data, device ID, and biometric authentication.
