Remember when the first iPhone was introduced? Back in 2007, many of us marveled at the iPhone but at the same time were skeptical of its usefulness. That was because back then we were not transacting so much of our daily lives online, let alone on a nifty handheld device. Fast forward to 2022 and our lives look radically different. Today, we are conducting most of our lives online, be it a simple task like looking up a recipe or shopping online to more complicated transactions like signing into our bank accounts to make financial transactions or applying for a loan.
The COVID-19 pandemic also forced consumers to transact digitally to a far greater extent, and financial institutions needed to quickly pivot to offer most of their services online in a “no touch” environment.
The digital evolution that was accelerated by the pandemic brought about an onslaught of identity fraud from 2020 to 2021, which according to Javelin Strategy’s 19th annual Identity Fraud Study: The Virtual Battleground, totaled upwards of $52 billion and affected more than 42 million Americans. The elderly among us, many of whom did not have prior experience transacting online, were and continue to be especially vulnerable to scams by fraudsters who have zero qualms about robbing the unsuspecting of their hard-earned money. So, it is no surprise that there has been an alarming rise in account takeover (ATO) fraud due to social engineering scams over…
