Security News > 2020 > September > Account takeover fraud rates skyrocketed 282% over last year
ATO is the weapon of choice for fraudsters leading up to the holiday shopping season, new data from Sift shows, and consumers place account security burden on businesses.
Account takeover fraud attempts to steal from consumers and e-commerce merchants swelled 282% between Q2 2019 to Q2 2020, new data from digital trust and safety provider Sift finds.
ATO rates for physical e-commerce businesses jumped 378% since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sift's Q3 2020 Digital Trust & Safety Index found.
"According to Deloitte's annual holiday retail forecast, e-commerce sales are forecasted to grow between 25% and 35% and are expected to generate $182 billion and $196 billion this season. When combined with the surge in ATO rates, the 2020 holiday shopping season presents the perfect opportunity for fraudsters to leverage account takeovers to take advantage of more people shopping online, Sift said."This can have a devastating impact on companies including financial repercussions and brand abandonment,'' the company said.
"The surge in account takeover attacks indicates that merchants can't leave the burden of account security to their customers,'' said Tan, in a statement."Rather, companies should treat account protection as part of the overall customer experience and as a key part of their digital trust and safety strategy, which allows for seamless transactions while preventing fraud.