Beware of Smartphone Security Threat: New Report Claims Most Banking Scam Attempts Now Take Place on Mobile Devices
- Scammers are increasingly targeting mobile users with banking scams
- Bank scam attempts increased by 35% in the last 12 months
- Job scams are also on the rise, luring victims with promises of high salaries and job satisfaction, for a price.
New research has claimed that banking fraudsters are increasingly targeting mobile devices, with a 35% increase in such scams in the last 12 months. Instead of attempting to scam victims via landlines or email, banking scams now almost exclusively target mobile devices, from where victims can easily transfer money.
The BioCatch report has highlighted a variety of scams that are increasing in prevalence, including romance scams and investment scams.
However, while banking scams represent a key challenge, purchasing scams are the most common, accounting for 33% of all scam attempts.
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Global fraud
The proliferation of mobile phones around the world and the availability of banking applications is an advantage for scammers, but they use all kinds of strategies to separate victims from their money. BioCatch research shows that 90% of all scams are conducted via mobile phone, with romance scams up 23% in the last year and investment scams the most expensive, with an average value per case of $6,600.
BioCatch has identified that both scammers and banks use artificial intelligence techniques.
“Social engineering scams have not suddenly become less frequent or less sophisticated,” said BioCatch Director of Global Fraud Intelligence Thomas Peacock. “If anything, artificial intelligence has lowered the barrier to entry for would-be fraudsters, allowing more bad actors to create more convincing scams on a scale we’ve never seen before. In response, many banks have realized that behavioral intelligence allows them to recognize signs of manipulation and coercion before an account holder authorizes a transaction.”
Robbery without break-in
The risk of banking scams depends on two key factors: the scammers’ use of manipulative and persuasive strategies to force irrational financial-based panic in the victim, and the ease with which money can be moved through a mobile banking app.
Although mobile banking is very convenient for honest citizens, it is also proving to be a boon for fraudsters. As BioCatch Global Advisory Director Jonathan Frost says, “Scammers don’t need to break into an account if they can persuade the customer to transfer the money for them. That’s the challenge banks face today with investment and romance scams, where customers are manipulated into making payments they believe are legitimate.”
Different territories have their own rules to help victims of these scams. In the UK, protection is available. “Refund in the UK protects victims financially after the event, but does not prevent the scam from being successful. The priority now has to be preventing the payment from reaching the criminal in the first place.”
The challenge is to ensure that everyone knows the risks of banking scams.
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