As fraud continues to be a major problem around the world, businesses and organizations are under increasing pressure to combat it. In the coming years, we can expect to see technological advancements in tools that provide functional services associated with dark web monitoring, to help identify comprised information that could be sold on the dark web.
In this article, we explore the impact that fraud has had on businesses over the past few years and what some of the projected worldwide fraud trends are.
What Has the UK Cost of Fraud Been Like over the Past Few Years?
The UK cost of fraud in 2021 was estimated to be £137 billion! During that period, consumers were missing out on the opportunity to purchase a variety of items.
£137 billion was the equivalent of nearly purchasing 23 billion Netflix monthly subscriptions or nearly 305 million PlayStation 5s!
However, with fraud costs growing annually, not only in the UK but across the world as well, organizations and consumers must know the rapid global fraud threats that are occurring right now.
Phishing
This is when a fraudster’s emails or texts messages that look like it’s from a legitimate source, such as your bank. The message will usually contain a link that takes you to a fake website where you’re asked to enter personal information, such as your credit card number or password.
Phishing emails will become more sophisticated and personalized, and this is because fraudsters are using AI to create authentic emails that are harder to spot. Additionally, they’re also using social media to gather information about their victims so that they can make their phishing emails seem even more legitimate.
Almost 323,972 phishing fraud reports were made in 2020, with total losses of $2.4 billion. In the first quarter of 2020, there were 2.02 million phishing websites.
BEC Scams
BEC scams are when a fraudster impersonates a high-level executive in an email to trick an employee into sending them money or sensitive information. These types of scams have been on the rise in recent years, and they’re only getting more sophisticated.
This is because the pandemic has resulted in more people working remotely, which makes it easier for fraudsters to target businesses. BEC scams have cost businesses an average of $43.3bn by 2021.
Ransomware Spike
Ransomware is a type of malware that encrypts your files and demands a ransom to decrypt them. This type of attack has been on the rise in recent years, and it’s only getting more common.
In 2021, there was a significant increase in ransomware attacks on healthcare organizations as fraudsters utilized the COVID-19 pandemic as the perfect opportunity to prey on and capitalize on the insecurities of people during the pandemic.
These attacks are expected to continue in the coming years as criminals realize how profitable they can be.
Card Skimming
Card skimming is a type of fraud that involves stealing credit card information by attaching a skimmer to a point-of-sale terminal. The device can harvest all the card data from the account holder who has inserted their card into the compromised machine.
Some card skimmers will have cameras, so before anybody enters their card details into a machine, a user needs to be on high alert for any hidden cameras. People should always cover up the keypad when entering their PIN number.
In the US, card skimming is rife with issues. In 2018, it was reported that 38.6% of card fraud situations occurred, which was equal to $9.46 billion of transactions that were illegal.
Conclusion
Fraud is a global issue that is only getting worse as technology advances. As we head into halfway through 2022, it’s important to be aware of the different frauds that are out there and how to protect yourself from them.
If you think you have been a victim of fraud, you should report it to Action Fraud as soon as possible.
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