Webinar Reveals Stunning Levels of Sophistication Among Fraudsters

Anne Uwabor

PULSE Live webinar on Emerging Fraud Threats, presented by Yvette Bohanan of Glenbrook Partners.

In one of the highest-rated webinars in PULSE history, a payments fraud expert shared startling images and videos demonstrating the sophistication with which today’s fraudsters are operating.

Yvette Bohanan, a Partner with Glenbrook, showed PULSE clients how fraud organizations recruit new accomplices, trick consumers into revealing data, and perpetrate fraud on a large scale. She also provided specific, actionable steps issuers can take to more effectively detect and prevent payments fraud.

AI is benefiting fraudsters too

The number of data breaches has been trending down in recent years, but the number of records per breach has risen, said Bohanan. What’s worse, the data obtained is much more personally identifiable and valuable.

“There are a lot more convincing fabricated identities on the dark web as a result,” she said.

BIN attacks are getting smarter because of artificial intelligence (AI), with fraudsters learning to use more characteristics that mimic legitimate cardholder usage. Recruitment of “mules” is penetrating employee ranks at government agencies and corporations through a tremendous amount of advertising and incentives across the deep and dark web.

“The scalability and adaptability are tough to keep up with,” said Bohanan.

How issuers can fight back

In addition to detailing current attack vectors and how fraudsters are using them, Bohanan also recommended countermeasures issuers can take to better detect, and even prevent, fraud. These include the use of multifactor authentication, reductions in detection latency, and deployment of “honeypots” to attract fraudsters and learn more about their behavior.

Also among her recommendations: