BioCatch Survey Finds Financial Institutions Worried About Account Takeover Attacks

A new BioCatch survey shows that financial institutions are increasingly aware of the threat of account takeover fraud to their organizations. In that regard, a full 72 percent of financial institutions identified account takeover as their most pressing fraud concern, eclipsing threats like phishing, social engineering scams, and synthetic IDs.

The results are based on the responses of cybersecurity professionals working at more than 175 financial institutions all over the world. They reported that the threats they are most worried about (including account takeover fraud) also happen to be the ones that are having the biggest impact on their organizations’ respective bottom lines, and indicated that they are taking steps to address the problem. Most notably, two-thirds of the respondents believe that their organization will up its investment in anti-fraud technologies in the next few years, and much of that money will be earmarked for behavioral biometrics and other analytic solutions.

The respondents specifically listed transaction monitoring, device ID, and behavioral biometrics as the three fraud prevention technologies that will draw the most attention (and the biggest investment spends) over the course of the next 18 months. As it stands, nearly half (47 percent) of the respondents felt that the lack of visibility in digital channels was their most pressing challenge on the fraud management front, and they are looking for solutions that can provide them with more insight into those newer aspects of their organization.

The financial professionals suggested that a modern anti-fraud strategy needs to account for the customer experience in addition to fraud itself, with 62 percent stating that a good fraud prevention solution should make customers feel more secure. Beyond the financial losses, major fraud events can often lead to a loss of productivity for those dealing with the problem.

“While the industry has made great strides in protecting consumers from cybercrime, the risk of fraud continues to take a heavy toll on financial institutions and the clients they serve,” said BioCatch Fraud Strategy Director Raj Dasgupta. “There is still much more work to be done to combat account takeover and other forms of fraud.”

BioCatch, of course, is best known as a developer of the kind of behavioral biometric technologies that financial institutions are currently seeking out. The company has been identified as one of the fastest-growing companies in the United States, and brought in $145 million in Series C funding back in 2020.

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October 14, 2021 – by Eric Weiss