As technology evolves at a breakneck speed, criminals, cybersecurity experts, and governments are in a constant race to adapt.
Almost as soon as consumers and companies become familiar with one potential scam, fraudsters come up with another way of conning individuals and corporations to get their hands on their hard-earned cash.
Knowing what scams are on their way can help businesses and consumers be on the lookout for suspicious activity.
These are four e-fraud trends that are likely to emerge and pose a new threat to the online community.
CEO Fraud
A relatively new form of scamming employees, CEO fraud typically involves scammers assuming the identity of a company’s CEO and issuing orders to its employees.
Using information widely available online, scammers are able to convincingly assume the identity of the CEO and give fraudulent instructions to the company’s employees.
These cyber attacks are difficult to detect and prevent against because unlike other forms of cyber attacks, the scammers are often not bots but real people assuming the CEO’s identity.
Caller ID Spoofing and Malware
Cybercriminals use caller ID spoofing and malware to hide the location and identity of callers. In this manner, fraudsters can hide the origin of cyber attacks and destination account of fraudulent transactions.
Using an identity verification service will help firms establish the real-world identity of consumers.
Many modern identity verification services are adopting biometric recognition software and machine learning techniques to protect against anonymous users and fraud.
Gaming companies are going to love Netverify’s services, for example, which use the very latest technologies to provide a safer consumer experience.
Cloud Services
In 2018, nearly 22% of accounts originating from cloud service IP ranges were fraudulent accounts. This is because cloud services often allow fraudsters the ability to mask their identity and the identity of fraudulent bank accounts used in cyber attacks.
Cybersecurity firms are combatting these attacks through increased data intelligence and machine learning.
Organizations are focusing on data collection and analysis to identify potential signals of fraudulent accounts.
Machine learning is allowing for more effective identification models. This focus on machine learning approaches will likely continue and develop.
New Phishing Trends
Once upon a time, phishing attacks were largely impersonal and prompted a user to download a suspicious looking file to install malware and spyware on their system.
But cybercriminals have become more advanced in recent years. Now, cybercriminals often tailor the phishing emails to a particular target.
They address the user by name and use familiar company logos. In some cases, criminals have even hacked emails and identified the way the user interacts with other employees.
The malware these criminals use is also more sophisticated. Now, many malicious malware designs are able to install and run on your computer without downloading a file. Simply opening an infected email is enough.
They are also becoming harder to detect. Some malware will disappear as soon as the computer is shut down, meaning many people fall victim and never realise.