LexisNexis Risk Solutions has revealed a significant 20% year-over-year (YOY) surge in the global digital attack rate in its latest cybercrime report, signalling the rise of digital fraud as economies recover from the aftermath of the pandemic. 

In the “Trust and Collaboration as Foundations to Fight Fraud” report, the company found several important trends in relation to digital fraud.  

The global attack rate has continued to rise, driven by increases of 31% in the financial services industry and 29% in e-commerce. Criminals primarily targeted the communications, mobile, and media sectors.  

However, there was a noticeable decline of 27% in the overall attack rate, indicating a shift in focus by criminals. Attack rates on digital payments increased by 27%, particularly in alternative payment methods like digital wallets, QR code payments, and peer-to-peer transfers, with a significant 50% rise in the APAC region.  

E-commerce also faced a surge in automated bot attacks, with a global increase of 195%. The United States experienced a 127% YoY growth in e-commerce-focused bot attacks, while the gaming and gambling industry saw a 112% rise, coinciding with its expansion due to legalization in more states.  

Related: Adopting behavioural biometrics revealed as key to counter fraud

LexisNexis Risk Solutions Vice President of Fraud and Identity Strategy Stephen Topliss emphasized the vulnerabilities faced by businesses in the current era of accelerated digitalization.  

“Despite heightened regulatory scrutiny, technological innovations, and higher public awareness, there are persistent challenges in preventing fraud. This trend is likely to endure as consumers continue adopting digital channels,” he said. 

“As fraud levels and its sophistication increase, relying on multifactor authentication alone as a defence is inadequate in today’s digital world. Organizations, industries, and countries must collaborate and identify the interconnected signals of complex fraud attacks because criminal networks working in a structured way are here to stay.” 

Topliss states that addressing the latest scams requires targeted machine learning models that can consume the latest digital intelligence insights, behavioural biometrics signals, and mule account indicators. 

The findings of the report underscore the urgent need for enhanced collaboration and innovative strategies to combat the growing menace of cybercrime.  

As digital fraud continues to evolve in sophistication, the company believes that organizations, industries, and nations must work together to identify and counteract the intricate signals of complex fraud attacks.

Download a copy of Trust and Collaboration as Foundations to Fight Fraud: The LexisNexis® Risk Solutions Cybercrime Report 2022

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Eliza Sayon

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Eliza is a content producer and editor at Public Spectrum. She is an experienced writer on topics related to the government and to the public, as well as stories that uplift and improve the community.

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