Visa Says Ransomware Attacks Reach Record-Breaking Numbers

Ransomware attacks reached record-breaking numbers in March 2023, with a 91% increase compared to the previous month, according to Visa.

Compared to the same period in 2022, ransomware attacks increased by 62%, the digital payments firm said in a Thursday (Sept. 7) press release.

Exploited vulnerabilities and compromised credentials were identified as common causes of ransomware attacks, according to the release. These attacks target any accessible data, including payment information and personal identifiable information.

Another growing fraud scheme is enumeration attacks, the release said. Enumeration attacks continue to impact merchants and consumers, with the number of attacks seeing a 40% increase over the previous six months.

Online merchants are becoming a bigger target, accounting for 58% of total fraud and breach investigations, per the release. Brick-and-mortar merchants made up 20% of investigations.

Retail-specific fraud schemes, such as false, spoofed or counterfeit merchants, have seen an uptick in the past six months, according to the press release. These fraudulent merchants steal customers’ payment account information without fulfilling orders.

Visa has also observed a rise in “malvertising,” where fraudulent merchants establish websites to take customer orders but fail to deliver the goods or services while stealing payment account information, the release said.

Another emerging scam in the retail space is the “free gift” scam, which targets victims with a pop-up window offering a free gift, per the release. Clicking on the pop-up window executes a malicious payload, allowing fraudsters to authorize cryptocurrency transfers from victims’ wallets.

Visa proactively blocked $30 billion in fraudulent transactions from January to June, according to the press release.

Visa’s Payment Fraud Disruption efforts in partnership with global law enforcement have resulted in significant crackdowns on cybercrime activities, the release said. For example, the major cybercrime platform Try2Check was taken down, and suspects involved in an Eastern European crime syndicate targeting electronic benefit transfer (EBT) fraud were arrested.

Cybercrime and ransomware are no longer limited to the domain of well-organized, well-funded gangs, Michael Jabbara, vice president and global head of fraud services at Visa, told PYMNTS in an interview posted Tuesday (Sept. 5).

There has been a “democratization” of fraud, because now anyone can go onto the Dark Web and buy the tools and the tutorials they need to carry out successful attacks, Jabbara said.