Going by the analysis of Barclays’ business and personal banking division, fraudulent actions have been on the rise since the second half of 2020 as compared against the first half. Deputy Chair of the Fraud Advisory Panel, Arun Chauhan reports that such frauds appear to have become a trend and they’re poised to continue.

He adds that there are mainly three areas that businesses should watch out for and the first among them is acquisition. Now that the individuals are going through financial pressure, they may end up making decisions that they would usually not make. With liquidity and cash on a toss, there’ll be multiple businesses that would try to bend the rules for securing more work.

Keep reading to educate yourself on the latest fraud trends and fraudulent activities in 2021 that businesses may face.

Monster and Fake IDs get a new face

Have you heard of the term synthetic identity fraud? Whenever an identity thief leverages a combination of fake and real information to create a new identity, this is called synthetic identity fraud and this is one of the most rapidly growing financial crimes. There are reliable companies like Funds Back, through which you can get professionals to check the business’ eligibility to retrieve the lost funds.

The dynamic rise in synthetic identity fraud is happening due to several factors, including access to dark web data, data breaches, and a competent lending landscape. Fraudsters are nowadays using fake faces for biometric requirements. They do this by combining multiple facial characteristics from people to devise a new identity.

Stimulus funds extortion activity

The pandemic has wreaked havoc on the financial lives of a majority of Americans. Those who were suddenly laid off from work or who were striving with the fiscal fallout of 2020 breathed a sigh of relief with the government-issued relief funds. However, sooner or later, these became a straightforward target for the fraudsters to commit crimes.

They are taking advantage of the added stimulus funding by utilizing hijacked data from individuals to cut off the unemployment or stimulus package.

COVID solutions that sound grandiose

As there is an increased distribution of COVID-19 vaccines and wider accessibility to rapid testing kits, swindlers will keep looking for opportunities to monetize on the anxious and naive businesses and consumers.

You have to be observant against con-artists that are promising you at-home test kits, treatments, and vaccines as a means of phishing attacks, social engineering, and telemarketing theft schemes.

Be ready to welcome continuous computerized attacks

As the government-aided fraud attacks are on, it is also anticipated that the hackers will turn to computerized methods which include credential stuffing and automatic script creation to make it easier and simpler to take over accounts.

As there are already several billions of instances of data breaches in the US annually, experts think that this kind of fraud will prosper in 2021 and 2022. It might stop when the industry stops its heavy dependence on usernames and passwords.

Account takeover fraud is also on the rise

This is an exclusive e-commerce fraud that occurs whenever someone gets access to the account of a user on an e-commerce website or store. Solution-providing companies like Funds Back are of the opinion that this kind of fraud is achieved by stealing passwords, personal details, or security codes on the dark web. They even implement and follow a phishing scheme dedicatedly against a definite customer who is their prey.

This is one of the most serious forms of identity theft that cost the victim’s reputation. Customers who feel that their personal details can be risky on a site are less likely to checkout. They are more likely to choose other sites that have stricter security measures.

One of the most effective options is to seek the help of fraud detection solutions for immediate rescue. Nevertheless, if you’re thinking of resorting to Funds Back, make sure you go through their Funds Back reviews to get a clear idea of the quality of their services.