End-of-year shopping: financial technology platform Adyen warns of growing AI fraud
The more expensive months make consumers more susceptible to fraud.
Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas… Around one Belgian in three postpones purchases until the shopping periods, according to the Retail Report by financial technology platform Adyen. For cybercriminals, too, the festive season ranks high on the agenda. Today, Adyen warns for fraud using AI.
Perfect forgery with AI
With rising prices, consumers are more often looking for the best bargains. Four shoppers in ten, for example, say they spend longer today surfing online for the best deal. Cybercriminals are capitalising on this, using clever phishing techniques to offer consumers discounts that are too good to be true. In recent months, Adyen’s research team has seen more and more cases of fraud using AI.
Whereas fraudulent texts used to be fairly easy to spot by the many spelling mistakes and poorly formatted emails, nowadays an AI chatbot easily manages to produce error-free texts and mimic humans. For the average consumer, this makes it even more difficult to distinguish the fraudulent from the legitimate. This is why Fouad Tbib, Team Lead Risk at Adyen, warns consumers today to be extra vigilant. Combining the economic situation with highly sophisticated technology could create the perfect storm.
218 euros loss for the consumer
The consequences of online scams are unfortunately far-reaching. Last year, almost one Belgian in five fell victim to some form of payment fraud. On average, they lost about 218 euros in the process. Some six shoppers in ten therefore say that online shopping has become less attractive because of the many fraudsters.
Cyber hygiene
Despite this growing awareness of online dangers, Belgian shoppers stick to their habits. Adyen’s survey shows that only one shopper in three is in favour of an online shopper checking their identity, for example using two-factor authentication.
Tbib adds: “Now that end-of-year shopping has started again, this is also the right time to make people aware of this issue. At the same time, fighting fraud is a shared responsibility. Retailers, banks and payment providers alike must have the right tools to protect consumers from the sophisticated forms of payment fraud.”
Of course, consumers also play an important role, which is why Tbib shares the following tips:
- If it’s too good to be true, it often is;
- Never give your credentials to strangers;
- If the purchase amount is large, pay with a credit card. You will then be insured;
- Do your research and look at reviews, the website URL, payment method etc.;
- Report any abuse immediately to https://safeonweb.be/.
Download the Retail Report with additional survey results here.
About the survey
The survey was conducted in the first quarter of 2023 by Opinium Research among 1,000 Belgian respondents on behalf of Adyen (AMS: ADYEN).
About Adyen
Adyen (AMS: ADYEN) is the preferred financial technology platform of leading businesses. With end-to-end payment capabilities, data-based insights and financial products in one solution, Adyen helps businesses worldwide achieve their ambitions faster. Adyen has offices around the world and works with companies such as Meta, Uber, H&M, eBay and Rituals.