News
Annual cost of fraud and cybercrime tops £10.9bn in the UK - expert comment
October 2016 by Robert Capps, VP of Business Development at NuData Security
According to Get Safe Online, the annual cost of fraud and cybercrime in the UK is
£10.9bn – the equivalent of £210 per adult. The research shows examples of
online fraud ranging from fraudulent phishing messages to extract the personal
details of victims, to ransomware and the theft of data through hacking.
Robert Capps, VP of business development at NuData Security, comments:
“We’re saddened, but not shocked, to see these findings. In this study, the fact
that online fraud costs the UK £10.9bn a year is a sad state of affairs for
consumers who can often bear the brunt of the costs (especially with regard to
account takeover and new account fraud). It’s absolutely no wonder that consumers
are pushing back on companies to improve security, holding them accountable for it,
yet still wanting to have a good experience going through the gates.
Financial fraud offers a lucrative source of income for cybercriminals, totaling
£755 million in 2015 in the UK alone. Cybercriminals have grown in their
sophistication, exploiting the human interest factor by posing as banks or suppliers
and then duping consumers into revealing their personal details. These scams have
also proved effective in targeting commercial organisations, as senior executives
are tricked into revealing sensitive information which enables access to a company
network.
The increasing volume of attacks globally can also be attributed to more fraudsters
willing to commit the crime, more data available on the black market, and more
financial institutions and merchants that are vulnerable to attacks. Plus, as more
countries fully adopt EMV, we’ll see fraud continue its migratory path to all
available online channels.
We have to remember; fraudsters know us better than we do in that they’ve pegged
our vulnerabilities. It’s time we returned the favour. They are vulnerable because
they must do very similar behaviours to be successful, and guess what? We can find
them by their tell-tale signals.
In order to detect out of character and potentially fraudulent transactions before
they can create a financial nightmare for consumers, we must adopt new
authentication methods that they can’t deceive. Solutions based on consumer
behaviour and interactional signals are leading the way to providing more safety for
consumers, and less fraud in the marketplace.
To combat these types of attacks, consumers should always report emails to their
banking provider. No legitimate organisation will ask for security or banking
details so consumers need to be suspicious of any email that requests this
information.
Meanwhile there are steps that consumers can take to help secure themselves:
– Shop with well-known companies online, or use safer payment systems such as PayPal,
ApplePay, Android pay, to avoid providing your payment details directly to an
unknown merchant.
– Use strong, unique passwords on each site you register with.
– Make sure to change your passwords regularly.
– Don’t use public computers or free, unencrypted Wi-Fi to conduct financial or retail
transactions or interactions.
– Don’t fall victim to email and phone scams, where a consumer receives a call from
"their bank" asking for personal, or financial account information. If it looks too
good to be true, it most likely is. When I doubt, call the bank directly, based on
the number printed on the back of your card, or on a recent statement.
