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Banks and Merchants have done tremendous work in making it as easy and quick as possible to open up accounts, but focus now has to switch on preventing criminals taking control of these accounts once they have been opened. Criminals are getting smarter, and are targeting consumers outside of the secure banking network by using stolen credentials to gain access to accounts, or by implementing social engineering techniques to trick consumers into thinking they’re legitimate. For that reason, banks must be prepared to protect their customers against these attacks.

The best way to do this is in real time as potential fraudulent activity is occurring. Of course, social engineering is difficult to detect as it will be a real user accessing a bank’s systems at the request of a criminal. However, by using technology to detect odd behavioural patterns – such as typing onehanded, moving the mouse strangely, or taking a while to click or tap through an online form – businesses can detect potential social engineering, and intervene at the point fraud is being attempted.

If businesses don’t take this rising threat seriously, it will hit their bottom line. Callsign data shows that as a result of the rising numbers of people falling victim to scams, almost half (45%) of consumers globally say their trust in businesses such as banks, mobile network operators, delivery companies, and retailers has decreased as a result of persistent scams.