Visa, a digital payments infrastructure has identified popular fraud tactics expected between November 2023 and January 2024 due to the rapid increase in eCommerce activities and in-person spending across retail and hospitality.
This was revealed in the Holiday Edition Threats Report, which anticipates heightened scam activity during the holiday season across both card-present (CP) and card-not-present (CNP) transactions.
“Crooks prepare all year for the holiday shopping season, taking advantage of increased activity and consumers who let their guard down searching for the perfect gift,” said Paul Fabara, Chief Risk Officer, Visa.
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“At Visa, we are committed to security and reliability, with a promise of 24/7 threat monitoring, even during the busiest time of the year. Consumers can rest easy this holiday season knowing Visa’s team of experts is working around the clock to stop fraud in its Tracks,” Fabara said.
According to the report, historical data and transactions show that threat actors prey on consumers during the holiday season. Visa’s data shows that for the top merchant categories targeted by fraudsters, 2022 holiday fraud rates increased 11 percent over their non-holiday fraud rate and saw an increase of 8 percent over the previous year during this time.
The Holiday Edition Threats Report warns that threat actors will seek to exploit consumers’ increased interest and urgency in finding deals and one-of-a-kind gifts.
The report disclosed various means these fraudsters carry out their activities, including phishing and social engineering, OTP bypass and provisioning fraud, and physical theft.
“At Visa, security and reliability is a top priority year-round. Over the past five years, the company has invested more than $10 billion in technology, including to reduce fraud and increase network security,”
“More than a thousand dedicated specialists protect Visa’s network from malware, zero-day attacks, and insider threats 24x7x365. In fact, in the first six months of 2023, Visa helped to proactively block $30 billion in fraud, preventing many from ever knowing they were at risk of a potentially fraudulent transaction. We encourage consumers to stay alert during this season and think about where they are shopping and who they are sharing their information with to keep it safe,” the reports stated.
