First Annual BioCatch EMEA Fraud Intelligence Report Reveals Scams Now Account for more than 50% of reported banking fraud in Europe & Middle East Banking Markets

Remote access scams gained significant favor with criminals and fraudsters, with the elderly most at risk, as global losses to fraud eclipsed $41 Billion in 2022

LONDON, April 27, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- BioCatch, the leader in behavioral biometric intelligence and digital fraud detection, today released its first annual EMEA Digital Banking Fraud Trends report. As bank fraud continues to threaten progress and disrupt lives in the digital age, according to the first-of-its-kind report scams have become the favored and most effective tool used by cybercriminals across the European and Middle Eastern region. BioCatch researchers found that 52% of reported 2022 fraud cases in digital retail banking were due to scams, as consumers contend with the cost-of-living crisis and increasingly new and sophisticated scams that target some of the most vulnerable people in society.

Notable findings of the report include:

• Authorized Push Payments (APP) scams are the #1 cause of fraud losses in the UK.
• 12% of all fraud in EMEA are Remote Access Trojan (RAT) attacks.
• Over 70% of RAT scams originate via a phone call.
• Elderly banking customers are unequally targeted by scams leveraging RAT attacks.

BioCatch received first reports of fraud cases in Spain that use stolen devices, a tactic which appears to be spreading across Europe.                                 

The inaugural report shows that remote access fraud continues to rise in the region, with cybercriminals using RAT attacks to not only execute fraud but also to observe and commit social engineering attacks on their victims. BioCatch found that over 70% of these RAT scams originated via a phone call from scammers directly to their human targets. Shockingly, 85% of these remote access cases involved seniors, illustrating the increased risk of digital banking for vulnerable demographics.

The report also highlights that Authorized Push Payments (APP) scams caused the greatest losses, which banks in the region are now moving quickly to address with the introduction of new UK legislation from the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR).

"It is tragic when anyone is scammed and suffers the associated humiliation and financial losses, especially when those victims are afraid, trusting, and vulnerable," said Gadi Mazor, CEO of BioCatch. "Our report emphasizes the need for financial institutions to recognize the pivot cybercriminals have made away from attacking systems to now focus on humans. We as a community of banks, governing bodies, and vendors must work together to devise solutions and regulations that protect our customers privacy and financial assets. This is possible and we must act quickly."

This report provides a high-level view of the fraud landscape based on aggregated data from financial institutions across EMEA over twelve months beginning January 2022, as well as data and insights collected by BioCatch's Global Advisory and Threat Analyst teams.

To learn more, read the full report here: https://www.biocatch.com/resources/white-paper/digital-banking-fraud-trends-emea-2023

About BioCatch

BioCatch is the leader in behavioural biometric intelligence and advanced fraud detection, technology that leverages machine learning to analyse an online user's physical and cognitive digital behaviour to protect individuals online. BioCatch's mission is to unlock the power of behaviour and deliver actionable insights to create a digital world where identity, trust and ease seamlessly co-exist. Today, BioCatch counts over 25 of the top 100 global banks as customers who use BioCatch solutions to fight fraud, drive digital transformation and accelerate business growth. BioCatch's Client Innovation Board, an industry-led initiative including American Express, Barclays, Citi Ventures, and National Australia Bank, helps enable BioCatch to identify creative and cutting-edge ways to leverage the unique attributes of behaviour for fraud prevention. With over a decade of analysing data, more than 80 registered patents, and unparalleled experience, BioCatch continues to innovate to solve tomorrow's problems. For more information, please visit www.biocatch.com

Contact: Hugh James, hugh.james@teamlewis.com

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