Security | Threat Detection | Cyberattacks | DevSecOps | Compliance

If there’s one fraud statistic worth dwelling on as Fraud Awareness Week 2024 passes, it’s this – in the past year, scams of one type or other siphoned $1 trillion globally, according to the Global Scam Alliance’s State of Scams Report 2024. But this figure only scratches the surface of cybercrime’s total global cost, projected to reach $10.5 trillion in 2025, according to Cybersecurity Ventures, the world’s leading source of cyber research.

The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) recently released a report Occupational Fraud 2024: A Report to the Nations, where they estimated that most organizations lose about 5% of their revenue each year due to fraud. We have joined in our support of International Fraud Awareness Week and applaud the ACFE and their efforts to help raise awareness and reduce fraud that hurts all of us, whether we work for these organizations or are consumers of the goods and services they provide.

As the holiday shopping season kicks into high gear, cybercriminals are gearing up too. This year, alongside the usual suspects, we're seeing some crafty new scams, so let’s take a look at some of the ones you should be most careful of during Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Giving Tuesday. AI-Generated Fake Reviews AI has allowed scammers to flood product pages with well-written and convincing fake reviews of products.

About five years ago, I was having trouble with an expensive brand-name refrigerator that my wife and I had bought. It was a great refrigerator feature-wise. My wife and I initially loved it. But it kept breaking. And each break, even though it was covered by the warranty, took weeks and weeks to repair.

The holiday season is here, and with it comes the thrill of Black Friday deals and holiday shopping sprees. But it's not just shoppers who are gearing up – cybercriminals are ready to take advantage of the holiday rush, hoping to catch unsuspecting consumers off guard. While Trustwave generally focuses on protecting enterprises from cyberattacks and scams, we feel it’s important to help consumers, as well. After all, many people use work devices for online shopping and accessing social media.

Frequent flyer programs have long been a symbol of loyalty and reward in the airline industry. These programs are intended to reward travelers with benefits and encourage ongoing customer relationships. However, a growing and pervasive threat is lurking beneath the allure of free miles and exclusive perks: Frequent Flyer Miles fraud. At the last credible count in 2018, there were over 30 trillion unspent miles in circulation, according to McKinsey.

Fraud is a rampant threat to individuals and organizations worldwide and across all sectors. In order to protect against the dangers of fraud in its many forms, it is vital to stay in the loop on the latest fraud trends and the threat landscape. The Fraudscape 2024 report from Cifas, the UK’s Fraud Prevention Community, is an effort to share this information to help prevent fraud.

Scammers have leapt at the opportunity to exploit vulnerable UK residents by sending bogus messages telling them they need to take action to receive help with their winter heating bills. In July, the UK's new Labour Government announced that it was limiting who was eligible for assistance with their winter fuel bills by making eligibility means-tested.