Jumio has revealed the top five ways that identity thieves and fraudsters target victims, in
Consumers beware: five ways your identity can be stolen
conjunction with the release of a new report entitled The Fraudsters Playbook.
The Playbook includes insider knowledge from renowned international convicted fraudster turned fraud prevention expert, Tony Sales, who reportedly amassed between £15-£30 million pounds with his fraudulent exploits.
“Fraud is a massive problem that’s not going away anytime soon,” says Marc Barach, chief marketing and strategy officer, Jumio. “With losses estimated to be £85 billion annually in the UK alone, we wanted to give consumers a look behind the black curtain so they can take the necessary precautions to keep themselves from becoming victims.”
“Fraudsters use a range of methods to steal identities, from hi-tech network cloaking to lo-tech door-to-door scams,” said Sales. “Jumio has brought these sinister strategies to light, enabling businesses to better understand how fraudsters operate and helping consumers to better guard their identities.”
The TOP FIVE methods that fraudsters use to steal consumer identities include:
- FREE WIFI: Fraudsters prey on unsuspecting patrons of local coffee shops and other establishments where public Wi-Fi is available (such as airports, office buildings and hotels). They first create a Wi-Fi network that has the same exact name as the venue’s legitimate network, and then wait for unknowing customers to log onto the fraudulent one. Using malware on the Wi-Fi network, the fraudster is then able to access the victim’s online accounts by hacking their passwords with cryptography tools.
- RECORD KEEPING UPDATES: Whether online or offline, and under the guise of census taking, updating records or verifying banking information, fraudsters are able to harvest large volumes of consumer identities. Fraudsters posing as public census takers go door-to-door requesting residents’ name, address, date of birth, length of tenancy, email address and more as a false means of updating the census. Consumers are also often fooled with telephone or e-mail scams that request information to verify purchases or account records.
- SOCIAL MEDIA: Social media has become a hot bed for fraud. Fraudsters will befriend an unsuspecting individual on his or her social networks, and then review that person’s friends, specifically looking for those that display the most information without privacy filters. A wealth of data can then be gathered — including favorite brands, retailers and recently-visited restaurants and businesses -and then leveraged to engage the unsuspecting consumer with free offers, billing “mistakes” and other ploys to gather credit card and other personally identifiable information.
- LOYALTY PROGRAMS AND MARKETING OFFERS: A fraudster will call their victim, pretending to be a business offering discounts and other offers that require a small payment or personal information required to sign up. Tempted by savings opportunities, the victim gives out this information, providing the means for a fraudster to exploit the victim’s financial identity.
- UNDERGROUND FRAUD FORUMS: Underground carding sites exist where fraudsters trade card numbers and bank account details. These ecosystems link participants with both victims’ card information as well as contractors with specific fraud skills. Criminals even target cards that begin with certain numbers that indicate they were issued a long time ago, signifying older cardholders who are more likely to have a higher line of credit than younger ones.
To learn more about how to avoid fraud, download The Fraudster’s Playbook here
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