ecommerce Account Takeover Frauds

Your online e-commerce store has customers from all over the world. It’s a wonderland place for con artists who are in the business of stealing people’s money and using their credit cards. They’re called as account takeover fraudsters.

These crooks work hard to obtain stolen credentials, so they can rack up massive purchases quickly on your e-commerce store’s dime. Their ultimate goal is to steal money and/or merchandise and get away with it before you can catch them red-handed.

In fact, e-commerce account takeover fraud accounts for 29.8% of e-commerce fraud, making it the most common type of e-commerce fraud.

An E-commerce account takeover is a cybercrime where hackers gain unauthorized access to an online shopping account. This can happen through phishing scams, password theft, or other means.

Once they have access, they can steal sensitive personal and payment information and make purchases using the victim’s account. The result can be financial losses and identity theft. E-commerce account takeovers are becoming more common, so online shoppers and merchants need to be vigilant and take steps to protect themselves.

Fortunately, you can protect yourself and your information by understanding the tricks that hackers use. Let’s start.

How do hackers take over your e-commerce account?

E-commerce is lucrative, and hackers always look for vulnerable accounts to hijack. They use various tricks to access your sensitive information and steal your hard-earned money. From phishing scams to weak passwords, these cunning cybercriminals know how to manipulate their victims into handing over their login credentials.

In this section, we’ll explore hackers’ tricks to take over e-commerce accounts. So buckle up as we dive into the world of cybercrime. Let’s learn how to stay one step ahead of the game.

1. Tricking online merchants

Online shoppers are the most common victims of e-commerce account takeover frauds, as thieves target online merchants to gain access to customers’ accounts and then make unauthorized purchases or withdraw funds.

The most common way criminals execute this type of fraud is by emailing merchants and posing as a customer, asking for the information needed to make changes to their accounts. In many cases, they even ask the merchant to update their payment card information or shipping address because they have misplaced it.

Once they have gained access to a customer’s account, they will change the billing or shipping address, often leaving out personal information such as name or email address so that the victim doesn’t suspect anything is wrong until it’s too late.

2. Sniffing and injecting attacks on public Wi-Fi

This attack occurs when a hacker gains access to the network that connects your device. This can also occur using a fake Wi-Fi hotspot or a man-in-the-middle attack.

Once the hacker has gained access to your network, they can read your data, including credit card numbers and passwords. The best way to protect yourself from this attack is by using a VPN service like NordVPN, which encrypts all of your data before it leaves your device and protects you from hackers who may try to steal private information while browsing online.

3. Phishing emails

Phishing emails are deceptively crafted emails that appear to be from reputable companies. They’re designed to trick users into clicking on a link, prompting them to enter their account information and passwords. As a result, the hacker can log in to your account and make purchases or change your billing information.

Some phishing emails appear to come from an online shopping site and ask you to update your account information. Others claim that you’ve won a lottery or sweepstakes prize and ask you to provide personal information so they can send it directly to your bank account or wire transfer company.

4. Malware attacks

The rise of malware attacks is one of the primary reasons e-commerce customers become victims of account takeover fraud.

Malware, or malicious software, is a computer virus that can infect your device when you visit a website or open an email attachment.

When you click on a link in an email or download an attachment, malicious software may be installed on your computer without your knowledge. This type of malware can allow hackers to access your personal information and passwords, which makes it possible for them to assume control over your online accounts.

5. Data breaches

Data breaches are a reality of online shopping, and they’re becoming more common.

E-commerce customers are becoming victims of account takeover frauds because of data breaches. These days, hackers have access to more data than ever before. This means they can successfully impersonate their targets, earning the trust of companies and gaining access to personal information.

Then, they use that information to take over an account when the time is right.

6. Data dump websites

Data dump websites are online stores that sell personal information and stolen credit card details in bulk. These sites offer a wide range of information, including names, addresses, telephone numbers, and email addresses.

The data dumps also include credit card numbers and expiration dates. Many websites offer this kind of information for free, while others sell it for a fee.

People purchase these types of data because they can use them to target e-commerce customers who have yet to protect their accounts with two-factor authentication (2FA) or other security measures.

By stealing someone’s credentials and using them on an e-commerce site that does not offer 2FA, criminals can take over an account and make purchases without needing additional verification.

7. Automated bots

One of the most common ways e-commerce customers become victims of account takeover frauds is by being targeted by automated bots.

These bots are programmed to search for email addresses that belong to e-commerce sites. Then they send them a message asking them to click on a link or download an attachment.

If they do, they can be infected with malware that gives hackers access to their computers and personal information.

Conclusion

The growing use of e-commerce has created a perfect environment for criminals to commit large-scale financial crimes. As the use of electronic payments becomes representative of the majority of business transactions, confidence in its security also increases.

This confidence is misplaced because it assumes that cyber criminals do not have sophisticated means at their disposal. The criminal enterprise is built upon ingenuity and hard work, so they constantly evolve its strategies to exploit new opportunities in untapped markets like e-commerce.

Don’t wait until it’s too late; secure your e-commerce business now! Contact us now.