Visa Inc., a world leader in digital payments, revealed its Holiday Edition Threats Report, which anticipates heightened scam activity during the holiday season across both card-present (CP) and card-not-present (CNP) transactions.
The new report identifies popular fraud tactics expected between November 2023 and January 2024 due to the rapid increase in eCommerce activities and in-person spending across retail and hospitality.
Visa, today, also unveiled its list of top 10 habits consumers can follow to practice safe and secure shopping.
Historical data and transactions show that threat actors prey on consumers during the holiday season.
Statistics show that for the top merchant categories targeted by fraudsters, 2022 holiday fraud rates increased 11% over their non-holiday fraud rate and saw an increase of 8% over the previous year during this time.
The Report warns that threat actors will seek to exploit consumers’ increased interest and urgency in finding deals and one-of-a-kind gifts.
“Crooks prepare all year for the holiday shopping season, taking advantage of increased activity and consumers who let their guard down searching for the perfect gift,” said Paul Fabara, Chief Risk Officer, Visa.
According to Visa, good security hygiene can guide consumers who are planning to shop this holiday season on best practices to stay safe.
The safety measures include shopping from trusted and well-known retailers and do more research on one is e considering a purchase from a store they are not familiar with.
Also Avoid Public Wi-Fi for Shopping, because Public Wi-Fi networks are often unsecured, which makes it easier for hackers to steal your information. Always use a secure, private internet connection when you're making purchases.
The public is also urged to beware of deals that are too good to be true. According to Visa Inc. offers on websites and in unsolicited emails can often sound too good to be true, especially extremely low prices on hard-to-get items. Consumers should be suspicious of such deals, as they often are.
