Account takeover fraud continues
by. Nicole Reyes
Account takeover fraud is growing across the world as fraudsters rely on this tried-and-true method for getting at our hard-earned money. Coming up against the card-counterfeiting challenges presented by EMV, these criminals have been forced to revert to this old-school method of fraud.
It’s important to note, however, that account-takeover doesn’t always involve cards. ACH, checking accounts, wire transfers, lines of credit – each of these can represent an open door for fraudsters. In fact, global fraud losses for ACH and wire transfer fraud totaled $455 million in 2012. So far in 2013, losses are on track to reach $523 million.
According to analysis from security firm Aite, fraudsters are really honing in on consumers who use the same login credentials for multiple financial accounts. (Frequent reminders to your customers about smart passwords are warranted now more than ever!)
In an interview by BankInfoSecurity, Julie Conroy, senior analyst for Aite, made an excellent point about the challenges facing financial institutions (FIs) working to prevent account takeovers:
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