New 2019 cybercrime report tracks growing threat of networked cybercrime

Furthermore, the report gives insight into the evolution of bot attacks targeting new accounts in media and ecommerce. From January 2019 through June 2019, the LexisNexis Digital Identity Network recorded 16.4 billion transactions, of which 277 million were human-initiated attacks, a 13% increase over the second half of 2018.

The new report details an example of how the Digital Identity Network tracked one fraudster across three industries and six different organisations (several financial services organisations, a media streaming company and a credit reporting agency). The fraudster attempted to create new accounts, initiate repeated login attempts and make fraudulent payments in an effort to monetise stolen credentials, launder money and abuse bonus incentives.

The Digital Identity Network revealed a number of bonus abuse attempts where fraudsters attempted to sign up for a number of new accounts in order to capitalise on free trials and streaming bonuses to sell for profit. Ecommerce companies also saw bot attacks on new account creations increase 305% and were most prevalent in online marketplaces, virtual gift card companies and ridesharing sites.

Globally, attacks on mobile apps rose 148% in six months and are skewed towards media organisations, particularly social media and gaming/gambling organisations, where bad actors register for new player bonuses to sell for profit. 

Download a copy of the LexisNexis Risk Solutions Cybercrime Report, January through June 2019 here.