The Business Buzz

Fraud is on the rise. Are you surprised? According to the FBI, credit card fraud complaints increased 10% last year. Losses from said fraud increased 22%, with losses surpassing $12.5 billion. There’s no doubt that technology has leveled the playing field for cybercriminals. 

AI and machine learning advancements have made it much easier for ambitious thieves to commit identity theft and credit card fraud. They can purchase consumer information on the dark web and use social media to create a pastiche of information—a sort of Frankenstein’s monster—for impersonating unaware consumers.

SMBs are particularly targeted for data breaches and cybercrime. Criminals know that SMBs may lack the resources that larger corporations can devote to cyber defense. Something as simple as a fraudulent email can become a Trojan Horse for a massive data breach.

Even the largest, most well-protected companies can fall prey to such schemes, as Target did in 2013. Can SMBs with less than 50 employees hope to fend off the ever-increasing onslaught of cyber-criminality, aided as it is by machine learning, AI, and cryptocurrency?

What about businesses that store customer credit card information for monthly payment processing? What about businesses with remote workforces? How can you tell a fraudulent, phishing email from a legitimate one? These are a  few of the questions we’ll look at as we take a deeper dive into debit and credit card payments and fraud prevention.

Did you know that friendly fraud is also on the rise? This is a type of fraud where customers will misrepresent a transaction to take advantage of a legal landscape that favors consumer protection…but at what cost to businesses? Learn about how to avoid this type of fraud and others in our latest blog posts.