There’s a greater opportunity for scammers to successfully compromise account data from eCommerce merchants and monetise it. — Photo courtesy of Vísa Vietnam
The advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) over the past year has provided threat actors with the ability to create highly customised phishing campaigns, making it harder for consumers to spot fakes, warned the Holiday Edition Threats Report recently released by Visa Vietnam.
In the report, Visa said fraudsters also create phishing websites, often using malicious advertising and other illicit search engine optimisation (SEO) tactics on retail or service websites to entice victims.
This is one among many threats that Visa mentioned in their report, which anticipates heightened scam activity during the holiday season across both card-present (CP) and card-not-present (CNP) transactions.
The new report identifies popular fraud tactics expected between November 2023 and January 2024 due to the rapid increase in e-commerce activities and in-person spending across retail and hospitality.
Historical data and transactions show that threat actors prey on consumers during the holiday season.
In fact, Visa’s data shows that for the top merchant categories targeted by fraudsters, 2022 holiday fraud rates increased 11 per cent over their non-holiday fraud rate and saw an increase of 8 per cent over the previous year during this time.
The Holiday Edition Threats Report warns that threat actors will seek to exploit consumers’ increased interest and urgency in finding deals and one-of-a-kind gifts.
With the increase in online shopping, there’s a greater opportunity for scammers to successfully compromise account data from eCommerce merchants and monetise it, Visa said.
Furthermore, with the increase in foot traffic at brick-and-mortar merchants and ATMs, threat actors will likely target ATM and POS terminals with skimming attacks.
Visa identified many one-time-passcode (OTP) bypass schemes to gain access to cardholders’ accounts. In this scheme, OTP templates are sent to the victims that appear to be associated with desired purchases. Threat actors may attempt to physically steal payment cards and/or phones from unsuspecting consumers in crowded retail stores, shopping malls, or parking lots.
Dung Đặng, Visa country manager for Vietnam and Laos, stated: "As we approach the holiday season, it's crucial for consumers to remain vigilant and adopt secure shopping habits."
“Our latest Threats Report signals an anticipated surge in scam activities during this period, both in physical and online transactions, driven by the growing trend in eCommerce and increased in-person spending. Awareness and following safe shopping practices are paramount to safeguarding against potential threats; hence, we hope this list will protect consumers from frauds and ensure a secure shopping experience during this festive period," she said.
To avoid risk during the year-end holiday, Visa suggests habits to help consumers, including customers should stick to trusted retailers that they know well.
Ensure the website employs secure technology by checking that the website address begins with 'https://' during checkout. The 's' indicates a secure connection with encrypted data transmission. When making purchases, use a secure, private internet connection to avoid potential risks on unsecured public Wi-Fi networks. Be cautious of seemingly too-good-to-be-true offers, especially on rare items at exceptionally low prices, as they may be fraudulent. Visa emphasizes that security and reliability are their ongoing top priorities.
Visa informed that security and reliability is their top priority year-round.
Over the past five years, the company has invested more than US$10 billion in technology, including to reduce fraud and increase network security. In fact, in the first six months of 2023, Visa helped to proactively block US$30 billion in fraud, preventing many from ever knowing they were at risk of a potential fraudulent transaction. — VNS