Friday, March 29, 2024

What is account takeover fraud (ATO)?

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If you own a business, security is crucial since you need to ensure that you and your business are safe. It would ruin your business if all equipment was stolen. The same would happen if a cyber attacker took over your system and stole all your client’s details. That is why you must ensure that your establishment is secure online and offline. It will protect you from cyber attacks such as malware attacks, phishing attacks, denial of service attacks, and account takeover attackers.

Cyber attacks such as account takeover attacks can hurt your business. If your customer accounts are hacked in an account takeover attack, you will lose your business. You may even have to close down because people will not create an account on your website. The attackers can also rob your company accounts and leave you with no money to run your business.

They may also get confidential information about your business. Hackers could use that information to blackmail you or ruin your business by putting it on the internet. In an account takeover, hackers can also publish information that may affect your business on social media platforms. It is, therefore, necessary that you take all the precautions against cyber attacks.

What Is An Account Takeover?

Account takeover refers to a type of cyber attack where malicious attackers gain access to user accounts and use them for personal gain. These can be online banking accounts, eCommerce store accounts, or even social media accounts. When they get into these accounts, they make large purchases, drain your bank accounts and use all your money.

They could also sell your account information to other fraudsters on the dark web. Bear in mind that when attackers get onto your account, they can scan it for personal information that they sell or use to get into your other accounts. If, for instance, your online banking or e-commerce accounts use multifactor authentication, this can be an excellent way to get that information.

Vulnerable Industries

Here are some of the industries that are vulnerable to account takeover.

Healthcare

Insurance and healthcare user accounts contain valuable data that hackers can sell for a high price on the dark web. People give credit card numbers, bank account information, social security numbers, and Personally Identifiable Information to hospitals and insurance providers. If a hacker takes over user accounts, they can get personal information that fetches a lot of money on the dark web.

Financial Institutions

Account takeover attacks on financial institutions result in attackers gaining access to customer accounts, Personally Identifiable Information, and routing numbers. The attacker can drain the victim’s account or use their information to make purchases. Attackers try to get into banking systems because they gain a lot of information they can sell on the internet and access your money.

E-commerce

E-commerce is another area that is vulnerable to account take over attacks. Attackers can fraudulently buy items, take your reward points and get your credit card numbers. They also have an excellent opportunity to steal personal information that they can sell on the dark web. Bear in mind that after a successful login, they can sell your information to fraudsters on the internet who will steal your identity.

How Is Account Takeover Performed?

Here are the four steps to an account takeover.

  1. Since attackers know that most people use one password for all their accounts, they first buy a list of stolen account credentials. There are many credentials on sale on the internet because of data leaks and breaches. Attackers can also copy this information if it is published on the dark web instead of buying it.
  2. Now that they have the credentials, they will need to test them on a target service. They can do this manually or use bots to implement a credential stuffing attack. Depending on the target, it is believed that the bots can access up to 8% of user accounts.
  3. After identifying the valid credentials for user accounts, the attacker can choose to log in and use your money themselves or sell the information to others. Validated credentials fetch a higher price than unvalidated ones, so they are sure to make a profit.
  4. During the account takeover, they will siphon more information that they can use to take over more of the victims’ accounts. For example, if an email account is compromised, an attacker can reset all your other passwords and use phishing attacks to defraud your contacts.

Types of Account Takeover Attacks

Types of account takeover attacks include the following.

  • Credential Stuffing

Credential stuffing involves using leaked or stolen credentials to gain access to user accounts. It is successful because people usually reuse login credentials on all the services that they use.

  • Credential Cracking

If attackers have a list of usernames but not passwords, they use credential cracking to get into user accounts. They will use brute force attacks or dictionary attacks to get the password.

  • Phishing Attacks

If attackers have emails but no passwords, they will send emails posing as legitimate businesses. They can deceive recipients and get them to reveal personal information. They then use that information to take over their email user account or other accounts.

  • Call Center Fraud

This attack is common for banking institutions in situations where a hacker has passwords, contact information, and usernames. The attacker pretends to be a bank call center employee and calls you to verify your account information like your PIN and multifactor authentication tests. If you give them that information, they will take over your account.

How Can Vulnerable Firms Protect Themselves?

To protect yourself, your business, and your clients from account takeover attacks, use account takeover detection software. That will help you track suspicious activity on your website along with suspicious IP addresses and devices.

Account takeover can adversely affect your business and personal life. Attackers can steal your money, use your account in illegal activities or embarrass you. If hackers gain access to your company system, you will lose your clients as they will not trust you to keep their information safe. Make sure that you get the best Account takeover detection software to protect your business and your clients.

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