How To Identify And Protect Yourself From Online Fraud Scams

The good news, and what to watch out for

Learn how to identify and protect yourself from these online fraud scams.

- Debbie Fletcher

As e-commerce continues to boom, online fraud is on the rise as well, with new risks appearing even as other online risks are receding. Here’s a look at the online fraud trends across 2017 and some insight into what to expect in 2018.

History has repeatedly shown that wherever fraud is made more difficult, tricksters simply turn to new avenues. 2018 will no doubt reflect history, and two points in particular should be kept in mind by online merchants.

CNP FRAUDSTERS WILL UP THEIR GAME

Card not present (CNP) fraudsters are increasingly getting their act together, a matter of boosting efforts when welltrodden paths are blocked. For example, proxies are often used by criminals to hide activity but the flagging of proxies in fraud detection algorithms has prompted criminals to add increasingly complex tools in conjunction with proxies.

In fact, fraudsters in 2017 operated as an organized community with everything from prepared guides to seminars, and this pattern of self-organization will persist in 2018. As an example, there are numerous collaborative efforts to battle-test fraud prevention solutions in an attempt to circumvent fraud detection systems.

Only cutting-edge online fraud protection solutions, which include advanced features such as machine learning and the ability to link to data across social media and other third-party databases, will succeed in preventing fraudulent transactions.

PREVIOUSLY “SAFE” VERTICALS WILL BE TARGETED