The rise of account takeovers

  • 26 November 2014
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Account takeover fraud is the primary means of attack from fraudsters and attack origins occurring predominantly outside of the U.S., according to NuData Security.

Account takeover is on the rise:

  • Account takeovers have beaten out credit card cycling as a more popular means of fraud, in which fraudsters attempt to hijack valid user accounts as opposed to using lists of stolen credit card details that are purchased and cycled through.
  • High-risk login attempts jump nearly 14 percent in the four weeks leading up to Thanksgiving. High-risk logins are those in which fraudsters try to take over the accounts of users to make a quick profit at a time of large, unusual purchasing.
  • More than 90 percent of high-risk login attempts are scripted, indicating sophisticated criminals with a good understanding of technology are developing small programs in order to quickly steal and buy using other users' accounts.
  • It is likely fraudsters download lists of stolen passwords from highly publicized data breaches. That gives them two important pieces of information: a list of usernames and passwords, and information about what the most popular passwords in the world are.
The bulk of account takeover attacks - more than 75 percent - are originating from or being routed through countries outside the U.S.
 
 
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