9 Reasons Digital Fraud Is On The Rise.

What Is Digital Fraud? Digital fraud is when criminals try to use email, websites, malicious software or other methods to learn your personal details or trick you into paying . Digital fraud entails the use of phishing emails, phony websites, bogus mobile apps, fake social media profiles, and other mechanisms to illegally obtain information and defraud consumers and businesses

1: Chaos caused by the global COVID-19 crisis.

Opportunistic hackers are taking advantage of the chaotic, global crisis to commit even more fraudulent activity. There is an extensive monitoring going on done by hackers as people work from home with the lockdown, all their digital payments are being monitored, communications and any other activity, hence digital fraud is becoming more rampant.

2: A changing e-commerce landscape.

Another trend impacting the rise in digital fraud is more retail purchases shifting online.

3: The advent of new marketplace platforms.

From social networks and dating apps to food delivery, alternative transportation, and vacation rentals, digital channels have revolutionized almost every industry. This new platforms are creating stepping stones for trails for digital fraud with baits being set by hackers to lure users with fake pseudo accounts look as if they are genuine.

4: Payments moving online.

In addition to consumers transacting more in online marketplaces, they are also using peer-to-peer payment (P2P) and e-Wallet apps more often. The easiest way a digital fraud takes place is interception of the P2P by hackers to divert the funds.

5:Increasingly digital banking services.

Today’s consumers demand more online and mobile services from their financial institutions. As a result, legacy banks are going digital. This is opening a Pandora box for hackers to take advantage of loopholes for applications that are not secure enough causing digital fraud to take place.

6: New consumer expectations.

Today’s consumers also expect their data to be secure. Yet they will abandon any transaction that takes too long, requires too much data, or is too complex. Whenever a consumer ignores to fully comply to the terms and conditions that help secure a transaction this leads to digital fraud taking place as hackers intercept this  incomplete transactions and change credentials.

7:More sophisticated fraud tactics.

Due to an increasing number of data breaches over recent years, fraudsters can more easily access PII (personally identifiable information) and use it against consumers.

8:Unclear legal jurisdiction of cross-border fraud.

Global commerce gives today’s online retailers and marketplaces an opportunity to reach even more customers.

9:Technological advancements.

Today, digital fraud has also accelerated and grown even more sophisticated due to the rise of e-commerce, mobile payments, and computing power.