Technology Topic of the Month
Account Takeover
What is Account Takeover
Account Takeover (ATO) fraud involves a criminal gaining unauthorized access to a user's account and using it for some type of personal gain.
What is Account Takeover Fraud?
Account takeover fraud can involve any type of online account, social media, and online banking accounts. Commonly targeted accounts are those from which a criminal can steal money. For example, a hacker might gain access to an online banking account and send funds to their own account. A fraudster could take over a social media account and invent a reason to request money from family and friends of the victim.
Difference Between Account Takeover and Identity Theft
With account takeover, the fraudster is using an existing account, whereas in identity theft, they would open up a new account while posing as the victim.
How Do Criminals Get Credentials In the First Place?
Data Breaches
A data breach is when a list of usernames (and potentially accompanying passwords) is leaked. These lists go on sale on the black market, meaning any number of criminals could be using them at the same time.
If a username and password for one account is known, hackers can use automated systems to try the same combination on a list of popular online platforms. This is referred to as credential stuffing, and is the reason it's so important to use a different password for every account.
Phishing Scams
These attacks may occur via email, over the phone, or via text message. The fraudster is trying to get you to hand over your login information. A phishing email might pose as a customer support message that persuades you to click a link to a phishing site (a fake website designed to phish for information). Here, you are prompted to enter your login information, which is then stolen by criminals.
Phone Scams
An example of an account takeover scam initiated over the phone is an iteration of the tech support scheme.
For example, the criminal poses as a Microsoft representative and persuades you that your computer has a virus and needs to be fixed. You hand over remote access to your device, and the criminal can access any accounts you have credentials stored for. They may purport to be "testing" accounts and access them in plain sight, or they could remote access to install spyware.
Spyware
Specific types of malware downloaded onto your device from malicious email links or attachments could expose your credentials. Some spyware takes regular images of your computer sessions, while key loggers record every keystroke, exposing your usernames and passwords.
Hacking Over Unsecured Wife
Many people think nothing of logging in to free Wi-Fi while at a cafe', mall, hotel, or airport. But these networks are often unsecured and represent a great opportunity for hackers to steal your information. A common attack over these networks is a man in the middle attack in which the hacker intercepts the contents of your internet traffic.
What are Attackers Trying To Do?
Here are some of the different things that criminals can get up to once they have access:
- Credit Card Fraud- Credit Card details for use in credit card fraud.
- Merchant Account Fraud- With access to bank account, an attacker can transfer funds to another account, among other things.
- Re-sell credentials: Username and password combinations may be posted for sale on the black market.
- Take out loans: Access to financial accounts can be used to take out loans and even mortgages in the victim's name.
- Monetary requests: By taking over a victim's social media account, the attacker can pose as the victim and make requests to family and friends for money.
* Once a criminal has access to an account, they usually very quickly try to lock the real user out by changing the password, recovery email, two-factor authentication settings, and security questions and logging out of other devices.
ANATOMY OF A FAKE CHECK SCAM
Fake checks drive many types of scams- like those involving phony prize wins, fake jobs, mystery shoppers, online classified ad sales, and others. In a fake check scam, a person you don't know asks you to deposit a check-sometimes for several thousand dollars and usually for more than what you are owed- and wire some of the money back to that person. The scammers always have a good story to explain the overpayment- they're stuck out of the country, they need you to cover taxes or fees, you need to buy supplies, or something else. But by the time your bank discovers you've deposited a bad check, the scammer already has the money you sent, and you're stuck paying the rest of the check back to the bank.
The Federal Trade Commission receives tens of thousands of reports each year about fake checks. Over the last three years, the number of complaints has steadily increased, and so have the dollars lost.
The FTC's new info graphic developed with the American Bankers Association Foundation, offers some tip-offs to rip-offs and what to do if you get a check from someone you don't know.
Please share this information with others. Victims may be embarrassed to talk about their experiences, but you can help. A simple phone call, email or text, saying "Look what I just found" and sharing this information may make a difference in someone else's life.