Fraudulent payments have increased by 100 per cent globally over the last two years, as changing consumer behaviour has led to a shift in cyber crime trends, a new study has claimed.

The report from ThreatMetrix found the opening of 83 million fraudulent payment accounts was attempted between 2015 and 2017, with fraudsters creating complete identities and opening new accounts by compiling identity data taken from data breaches and the dark web.

The increase in fraudulent payments comes as the volume of mobile transactions grew by almost 83 per cent, with mobile overtaking desktop-based transactions in 2017. Online account takeover attacks have increased by 170 per cent over the same period, with an attack now taking place every 10 seconds.

The ThreatMatrix report found that cyber criminals are no longer focusing on stolen credit cards, but are targeting more ambitious attacks that produce long-term profits by leveraging sets of stolen identity data.

2017 was also a record-setting year for cyber defence, as digital businesses thwarted 700 million attacks on consumer transactions.

Vanita Pandey, vice president of product marketing and strategy at ThreatMetrix, said: “As attacks intensify, so does the need for investment in advanced technologies to protect consumers, including individuals with breached identity and financial credentials.

“With the volume and complexity of attacks increasing daily, businesses need to accurately differentiate customers from criminals in real time, without impacting transaction speeds or introducing unnecessary friction,” she continued. “By looking beyond static data – and drilling down to the dynamic intricacies of how people transact online – companies can continue to grow their digital businesses with confidence.”

Share Story: