How Security Leaders Deal with Account Fraud

The tech-driven world has offered endless opportunities to business leaders to reach new horizons but eventually has opened the doors for cybercriminals to gain the advantage.

Hackers continuously explore new ways to steal sensitive business information by surpassing frail security standards.

More worrisome is that most cyber attackers target consumers through various attacks and exploit their identities. This leaves the business organization in dire straits.

One of the most common security threats is account fraud, which provides a user’s complete details to an unauthorized person who exploits the same for several reasons.

Stats reveal that the most common cybercrime reported in the U.S. in 2020 was phishing along with other similar frauds.

Hence, security leaders, including CISOs (chief information security officers) and IT heads, should put their best foot forward in minimizing the impact and mitigating the risk.

Let’s understand what account fraud is and how security leaders can mitigate the risk.

What is Account Fraud?

Account fraud is when an unauthorized person gains access to a user’s details. These details can be used to access the user’s account and further exploit their identity.

Most of the time, account fraud is a result of the negligence of a user. If a user isn’t aware of certain phishing emails, they may end up sharing their account information with fraudsters that are always on a hunt for exploiting consumer identities.

Consequences of Account Fraud

Many businesses become victims of account fraud within their organizations since their employees fall prey to phishing emails or unethical practices.

These kinds of cyber frauds not only exploit a consumers’ identity but could eventually cause losses worth millions of dollars for a business. And the result is brand tarnishing in the global market.

An organization must put its best efforts into strengthening its overall security mechanism and spreading awareness regarding these cyber crimes to avoid any security breach.

What Security Leaders and IT Heads Need to Know

No organization would ever wish to become the next victim of a security breach just because of a bit of negligence and an inadequate security mechanism.

However, certain aspects shouldn’t be missed when ensuring the highest level of security to prevent account frauds.

Let’s have a quick look at some of the aspects that can help reduce account fraud and some ways to handle account fraud.

1. Watch out for phishing scams

One of the initial steps is to check the source of emails that employees/users receive. Phishing scams always use fraudulent emails and websites to trick users into disclosing personal login or account information.

Organizations must ensure their employees and users are trained to quickly identify phishing emails well in advance before clicking on a link or sharing their personal information.

This will help secure consumers’ personal information and eventually mitigate the risk of a company’s sensitive information breach.

2. Adding multi-factor authentication (MFA)

MFA plays a crucial role in enhancing the overall security mechanism within an organization.

Adding stringent layers of security through security questions, one-time passwords, and magic links could be the best ways to minimize a security breach.

MFA helps reduce account fraud by authenticating users whenever they log in or access certain sensitive information. This ensures that even if a fraudster has gained access to a user’s user id and password, they must authenticate themselves to gain access.

3. Considering a CIAM Solution

One of the most critical aspects of mitigating the risk of account fraud is incorporating a robust security mechanism that verifies consumer identity through stringent authentication and authorization processes.

Hence, using a consumer identity and access management (CIAM) solution could be a game-changer for businesses seeking an advanced level of authentication and authorization security.

Final Thoughts

Consumer identity security shouldn’t be the least priority of an organization seeking substantial growth in the ever-expanding modern digital world.

With the increasing risks of account frauds, businesses may face losses worth millions of dollars and may end up tarnishing their brand reputation in the global marketplace.

It’s high time for CISOs, and IT heads to incorporate stringent security measures and spread awareness among employees and users.