With emerging technologies, online security seems to be one of the biggest challenges. With every passing day, internet fraud, social media hijacking, and online scams are the most common challenges. According to various research, one out of every 10 US citizens fall prey to online scam every year.
According to SEON data, account takeover (ATO) fraud has affected around 24 million American families. The report indicates that in the past year, a 288 billion dollar loss was incurred by account takeover fraud, with an average estimate of almost $12,000 per victim.
The US has a literacy rate of 79%. With 79% literate people, online scams like account takeover fraud are one of the biggest challenges for American citizens and the country's major stakeholders. An account takeover fraud is a type of phishing attack. In an ATO, a hacker/criminal gains access to valid social media accounts of the target. With that access, the hacker primarily targets active accounts such as email accounts and online banking.
The research also highlights that 51 percent of ATO attacks hunt for social media accounts, along with banking account details. It makes up 32 percent of overall breaches. The emerging amount of account takeover fraud is not only a threat to individuals. It is one of the prominent threats to businesses and organizations as well, as ample social entities fall prey to online fraud each year.
Furthermore, the survey illustrates that various US states have been a target for ATO fraud. According to the list, the US state of North Dakota remains the worst affected area. With around 670 victims of internet crimes, the affected state faced a massive loss of almost 21 million dollars with an individual loss of 31 thousand dollars.
California and Texas come next on the list, with massive account takeover frauds in the past year. The report shows that around 41,000 people in Texas, whereas an estimated 67,000 people in California were affected by ATO fraud. The following fraud caused a total loss of 1 billion dollars in California and a 606 million dollar loss in Texas, with an approximate $18,000 and $14,000 loss per victim, respectively.
Besides this, multiple other US states, such as New York, South Dakota, Michigan, and Utah, also incurred heavy losses by account takeover fraud, with an average of $16,000 loss per victim.
To conclude, the following statistics highlight the lack of awareness of Americans towards online scams. As per the reports, people must be well aware of emerging crimes and online scams in the form of social media hijacking, identity thefts, and common phishing attacks. The survey also highlights that not only individuals should guard themselves against online scams and account takeover frauds. Profitable organizations and social entities should also take a step forward to defend themselves from such attacks that might cause damage to their vital data and reputation.
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World
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