Holiday shoppers have been told to be sensitive this festive period to avoid falling prey to criminals. Digital payments company, Visa in its Holiday Edition Threats Report, anticipates heightened scam activity during the holiday season across both card-present (CP) and card-not-present (CNP) transactions while calling for caution.
The new report identifies popular fraud tactics expected between November 2023 and January 2024 due to the rapid increase in eCommerce activities and in-person spending across retail and hospitality. Visa, today, also unveiled its list of top 10 habits consumers can follow to practice safe and secure shopping.
Historical data and transactions showed that threat actors prey on consumers during the holiday season. Visa’s data showed 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 eight per cent over the previous year during this time.
The Holiday Edition Threats Report warned that threat actors will seek to exploit consumers’ increased interest and urgency in finding deals and one-of-a-kind gifts. Highlights of the report’s findings include Phishing and Social Engineering; OTP Bypass and Provisioning Fraud and Physical Theft.
On phishing, Visa said the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) over the past year provides threat actors with the ability to create highly customised phishing campaigns, making it harder for consumers to spot fakes. It said fraudsters also create phishing websites, often using malvertising (malicious advertising) and other illicit search engine optimization (SEO) tactics on retail or service websites to entice victims.
In terms of OTP Bypass, Visa identified many one-time-passcode (OTP) bypass schemes to gain access to cardholders’ accounts. In this scheme, OTP templates are sent to the consumers that appear to be associated with the desired purchase.
On physical theft, Visa noted that threat actors may attempt to physically steal payment cards and/or phones from unsuspecting consumers in crowded retail stores, shopping malls, or parking lots.
Chief Risk Officer, Visa, Paul Fabara, said: “Crooks prepare all year for the holiday shopping season, taking advantage of increased activity and consumers who let their guard down searching for the perfect gift.
“At Visa, we are committed to security and reliability, with a promise of 24/7 threat monitoring, even during the busiest time of the year. Consumers can rest easy this holiday season knowing Visa’s team of experts is working around the clock to stop fraud it tracks.” Visa said for it, noting that security and reliability are a top priority year-round.
“Over the past five years, the company has invested more than $10 billion in technology, including to reduce fraud and increase network security. More than a thousand dedicated specialists protect Visa’s network from malware, zero-day attacks and insider threats 24x7x365.
“In fact, in the first six months of 2023, Visa helped to proactively block $30 billion in fraud, preventing many from ever knowing they were at risk of a potentially fraudulent transaction. We encourage consumers to stay alert during this season and think about where they are shopping and who they are sharing their information with to keep it safe,” it stated.
