Report: Banking Scams Shift to Mobile as Attempts Rise 35%
BioCatch says banking scams are increasingly mobile-focused, with attempts up 35% in a year.
The report says purchase scams are the most common type, accounting for 33% of all scam attempts, even as banking scams remain a key challenge. Romance scams increased by 23% over the past year, and investment scams were the most costly, with an average case value of $6,600.
BioCatch's research shows that 90% of all scams take place via a mobile phone. The spread of mobile phones and banking apps gives scammers an advantage, according to the report, and they use a range of strategies to part victims with their cash. Employment scams are also growing, TechRadar reports, tempting victims with promises of high wages and job satisfaction for a price.
"Social engineering scams have not suddenly become less prevalent or sophisticated," Thomas Peacock, director of global fraud intelligence at BioCatch, said in the report. "If anything, artificial intelligence has lowered the barrier to entry for aspiring scammers, allowing more bad actors to create more convincing scams at a scale we've never seen before. In response, many banks have realised behavioural intelligence enables them to recognise signs of manipulation and coercion before an accountholder ever authorises a transaction."
The risk from banking scams relies on two key factors, according to the research: fraudsters' use of manipulative, persuasive strategies to force an irrational financial-based panic in the victim, and the ease with which money can be moved around via a mobile banking app.
Jonathan Frost, director of global advisory at BioCatch, said scammers do not need to break into an account if they can persuade the customer to move the money for them. "That is the challenge banks face today with investment and romance scams, where customers are manipulated into making payments they believe are legitimate," he said.
Different territories have their own rules for helping victims of these scams. In the UK, protection is available. The article says reimbursement protects victims financially after the event, but it does not stop the scam from succeeding. "The priority now has to be preventing the payment from reaching the criminal in the first place," it adds.
The report suggests that the challenge is to ensure everyone knows the risks from banking scams. BioCatch identified that artificial intelligence techniques are used by both the scammers and the banks.