With Cyber Monday just days away, online shopping will surge, and with that will come a jump in online fraud attacks, causing problems for both consumers and merchants. According to Shop.org, more than half of all workers plan to shop online on Cyber Monday while on the clock, and are predicted to spend $1.2 billion, up from $1 billion in 2010, according to ComScore.
“Cyber Monday is not only a big day for retailers, it’s a big day for hackers and criminals taking advantage of online shoppers by directing them to websites which can drop malware and Trojans onto systems–the result being stolen cardholder data,” said Mark Bower, a vice president with Voltage Security. “Similarly, fake merchant sites are often set-up to lure customers to enter card details.”
According to Adam Powers, CTO of Lancope, “The holiday season provides the perfect storm for the motivated cyber criminal: excited, hurried victims with lots of money and a willingness to spend it.”
This “Circle of Fraud” infographic, courtesy of our friends at ThreatMetrix, tells the story of a typical fraud network and its operating methods, including how these fraudsters interact with one another in various industries, from banking to social media to eCommerce.
