In 2020, cybercriminals started laundering four times more money

According to the Kaspersky Fraud Prevention report, in 2020, attackers most often tried to make unauthorized money transfers by using a compromised account (in 36% of cases) or by infecting the device with malware (31%).

In 2019, malware attacks were the absolute leader, 63% of the total number was recorded. The share of incidents related to money laundering increased fourfold this year and amounted to 12%.

Hackers use complex and multi-stage money laundering schemes: they change accounts, companies, presentation, currency, and jurisdiction many times. In this regard, financial organizations need to build a cybersecurity system in such a way as to minimize the possibility of hacking, as well as to promptly monitor any illegitimate actions.

In e-commerce, the most common form of fraud is the abuse of welcome bonuses in loyalty programs. The scheme is quite simple: attackers massively register accounts in the marketplace, receive welcome bonus points, and buy products with a discount under the bonus program. For example, in one case, a fraudster bought diapers and candy and then sold the purchased goods at a profit on popular trading platforms. In the future, the created accounts were not used, their average life was 1-2 days.

“As before, one of the most common methods of fraud is the use of applications with remote access tools. Also, the attackers have mastered the scheme of spoofing numbers for incoming calls. Bank customers, unfortunately, are often deceived, because they are used to the fact that a real call from a financial institution can be made from different numbers. The Kaspersky Fraud Prevention platform, aimed specifically at banks and other financial institutions, allows tracking the activity of hackers by analyzing a variety of parameters, including user behavior, device parameters, and the presence of malicious or dangerous programs,” said Ekaterina Danilova, Business Development Manager at Kaspersky Fraud Prevention.