Security alert: 80 percent increase in domestic holiday attacks

The 2016 Fraud Attack Index reflects an analysis of the period from Jan 2016 to Dec 2016 and comparing it to the corresponding period in 2015. A key finding of Forters analysis was the 79% increase in risk of fraud for domestic holiday orders when comparing Q4 2015 to Q4 2016. This rise in the amount of domestic online fraud attacks has been influenced by the EMV adoption in the US in October 2015.

Nevertheless, the international fraud attack rate decreased by 13% as compared to 2015. Also, fraudsters have shifted from “Merchant ATO” (i.e. breaking into accounts on the merchants website, in order to pass as returning customers) to “online payment ATO” (i.e. breaking into accounts of online payment services, such as PayPal, Apple Pay, Amazon Payments, etc.).

Additionally, examining the breakdown between industries, Forters data team compiled these statistics on the frequency of fraud attacks within the following key retail verticals: apparel - 69.9% increase, luxury - 8.4% decrease, digital Goods - 22.6% decrease, electronics - 1.8% decrease, travel & hospitality - 33% decrease, food and Beverages - 49.8% increase.