ThreatMetrix Report Reveals Dramatic Cybercrime Growth Targeting Digital Disruptors in Media Streaming and Ridesharing

/EINPresswire.com/ -- SAN JOSE, CA--(Marketwired - August 14, 2017) - ThreatMetrix^®, The Digital Identity Company^®, today revealed that cybercrime attacks have reached their highest-ever levels, with 144 million attacks detected over the last 90 days. Cybercriminals are increasingly targeting emerging digital business models such as ridesharing apps and media streaming sites, demonstrating the evolving nature of cybercrime.

The ThreatMetrix Q2 Cybercrime Report revealed cybercrime has gone up nearly 100 percent since 2015. A key driver is the rise of new account origination fraud, which has increased 30 percent since last quarter. Stolen data off the back of global breaches is being used to not only apply for new loans and open eCommerce or banking accounts; but also to perform attacks on less traditional industries.

"As new business models take the digital economy by storm, innovative methods of monetizing stolen credentials found on the Darknet are emerging. Highly organized criminal gangs have set their sights on disruptive, mobile-heavy industries such as media streaming and ridesharing," says Vanita Pandey, vice president of product marketing and strategy at ThreatMetrix. "With ridesharing apps, for instance, fraudsters are taking trips using stolen credit cards or propagating two-party fraud by using a fake driver account and 'accepting customers' using stolen credentials. Some cybercriminals are even leveraging ridesharing business models to create fake customer accounts and launder money via false insurance claims."

The rise in fake accounts is seen most dramatically amongst media companies (e.g. social networking, content streaming and online dating organizations) which have seen a 527 percent increase in new account origination attacks. Fraudsters are using modest sign-up requirements to test stolen identity credentials and cultivate opportunities to monetize stolen credit cards. Cybercriminals are looking to game the system, either by creating multiple free trials or selling accounts online at a reduced rate.

Ten years ago, only 7 percent of the US population used social networking sites, however today that figure has increased nearly tenfold, to 65 percent, according to Smart Insights. The diverse and dramatic rise of digital media sites and apps is leading them to become a prime target, with 28 million attacks detected in Q2 by the ThreatMetrix Digital Identity Network^®.

Cybercrime is more global and networked than ever before
The latest data from ThreatMetrix shows that fraud attacks are permeating across borders, using data harvested from global data breaches:

• Transactions originating from Europe are twice as likely to be fraud attacks compared to North America, which remains the top global target for attacks.
• South America is a global hub for new account origination attacks that target global media companies, with more than 45 percent of all new account origination attacks coming from Brazil.
• Japan joined the list of top attack destinations for the first time.

Stolen identity data is being used in the wild to perpetrate attacks
Bot attacks are significantly impacting daily traffic volumes across all major industries as fraudsters validate lists of stolen credentials through large-scale automated attacks.

• 82 percent of stolen credentials on the Darknet have been seen on the ThreatMetrix Digital Identity Network, showing the downstream impact of data breaches.

eCommerce remains a breeding ground for devastating attacks
eCommerce login transactions continue to be attacked more heavily than other industries, as fraudsters look to capitalize on saved credit card information and take advantage of the increasing popularity of shopping loans.

• 88 million attacks hit the eCommerce industry in the last quarter, which marks a 41 percent year-on-year increase.
• The proportion of mobile eCommerce transactions has grown nearly 40 percent year-on-year and nearly 20 percent just since last quarter.

Mobile engagement continues to grow, making cross-device recognition imperative
The prevalence of stolen identities and tools to enable spoofing is leading to more frequent attacks that target the growing mobile economy:

• 47 percent of transactions now come from mobile devices, with 55 percent involving new account creations.
• Financial services growth is predominantly driven by mobile transactions, with mobile account creations growing faster than any other use case at 141 percent year-on-year.
• Europe remains the most mobile region, with 53 percent of all transactions coming from mobile.

ThreatMetrix Q2 2017 Cybercrime Report -- download now

About the ThreatMetrix Q2 2017 Cybercrime Report
The ThreatMetrix Q2 Cybercrime Report is based on actual cybercrime attacks from April to June 2017 that were detected by the ThreatMetrix Digital Identity Network^® during real-time analysis and interdiction of fraudulent online payments, logins and new account applications.

About ThreatMetrix
ThreatMetrix^®, The Digital Identity Company^®, operates a global shared intelligence network to differentiate trusted customers from fraudsters. The ThreatMetrix Digital Identity Network^® recognizes behavior and identities across 4.5 billion unique devices from 1.4 billion anonymized users worldwide. More than 5,000 businesses rely on ThreatMetrix as their decision engine to deliver a frictionless digital customer experience across all online transactions, for increased profitability and security. ThreatMetrix is recognized as the sole Leader in the 2017 Forrester Wave™ for risk-based authentication. Learn more at www.threatmetrix.com.

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