The typical image of digital fraud is that of criminals forcing their way into systems and secretly stealing money or data without victims’ knowledge. Some fraud is even more brazen, however. Social engineering scams rely on tricking individuals with fraudulent interactions that appear legitimate, thereby ensnaring them into becoming active participants themselves. There are many ways for this deception to occur. Criminals use fake websites, phishing emails, malware-infected ads and a range of other online tools to gain then exploit a victim’s trust.
Faster payment rails and peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms are particularly vulnerable to social engineering scams, since they allow people to send and settle transactions at lightning speed, well before the victim realizes fraud has occurred. The U.S. Faster Payments Council surveyed its members and found that over half of respondents had experienced fraud related to their faster payment products, with the majority citing social engineering and account takeovers. Cryptocurrency is also at risk. The leading causes of crypto fraud center around fake investment opportunities and romantic scams, both classic social engineering ploys.
This month, PYMNTS examines why social engineering scams, including authorized push payment (APP) fraud, are difficult to combat and how companies, consumers and governments are responding.
Social Engineering Defies Detection
Because social engineering involves deceiving someone into doing…
