PORTLAND, Ore., Aug. 6, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- iovation, a
TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) company, today released its recent research
that about half of all risky online transactions appear to be
coming from a mobile device. Specifically, in the first half of
2019 iovation saw 49% of all risky transactions come from mobile
devices, up from 30% in 2018, 33% in 2017 and 25% in 2016.
"Fraudsters are like chameleons. They are always adapting their
tactics to make it look like they're legitimate customers," said
iovation's Senior Director of Customer Success, Melissa Gaddis. "With well over half of all
transactions now coming from mobile devices, our analysts
increasingly see fraudsters either using mobile devices or making
it look like their transactions are coming from mobile when in fact
they are using a traditional desktop."
Among its research, iovation found:
- The top continents for mobile fraud: So far in 2019 it
is North America with 59% of all
risky transactions coming from mobile devices. In 2018, it was
Asia at 53%. In 2017, it was
North America with 55%. In 2016,
it was North America again with
36%.
- The top countries for mobile fraud: Gabon leads so far in 2019 with 85% of all
risky transactions coming from mobile devices. It 2018, it was
Japan with 79%. Papua New Guinea led in 2017 with 86%. In
2016, it was Bangladesh with
59%.
- The top industries for mobile fraud: So far in 2019 it
is telecommunications with 75% of all risky transactions coming
from mobile devices. In 2018, it was gambling with 60%. Communities
(for example social networks or online dating sites) led in 2017 at
59%. In 2016, it was healthcare with 58%.
To find fraudulent transactions from mobile devices, iovation
suggests businesses closely analyze specific indicators
including:
- Mobile emulators: Fraudsters like to hide information by
using emulators to make it look like their desktop device is a
mobile device.
- Orientation: Is a device staying in the same position or
is it face down? These could be tell-tale signs of a bot or a
fraudster emulating a mobile device.
- SIM card country: Since fraudsters often try to mask
their location, the SIM card country provides yet another method
for identifying the true location of the end-user. Fraud analysts
may find fraudsters that target their businesses tend to have
devices from particular countries.
- SIM card carrier name: Certain mobile carriers can have
a higher percentage of fraudulent activity originating from
them.
- Currency: The type of currency tied to a device provides
additional context to the region associated with the device. This
can be another way to determine if the device is coming from a
risky location.
- Language: Much like countries, carriers and currency,
the language used on a device provides additional context on the
transaction which can help crack a fraud case when a fraudster is
attempting to mask other aspects of their device.
- Mobile OS version: Certain mobile operating system
versions may correlate with fraud or abuse.
Mobile Transaction Jump
iovation found 61% of all
online transactions came from mobile devices so far this year, up
from 56% in 2018, 51% in 2017 and 45% in 2016. Europe and North
America are consistently among the top continents for mobile
transactions with 67% and 60% respectively so far this year. The
top industry for mobile transactions so far in 2019 is communities
with 73%.
For more insights into iovation's findings along with new
iovation features to catch mobile fraud, go to this blog post that
includes an infographic.
Methodology
iovation came to its findings by analyzing
the 30 billion online transactions it evaluated for fraud from
January 2016 to June 30, 2019. To find the risky mobile
transactions, it calculated the percent of risky transactions from
mobile devices compared to overall risky transactions. For overall
mobile transactions, it calculated the percent of mobile
transactions compared to all online transactions. iovation defines
risky transactions as those that typically result in fraud.
About iovation
iovation, a TransUnion company, was
founded with a simple guiding mission: to make the Internet a safer
place for people to conduct business. Since 2004, the company has
been delivering against that goal, helping brands protect and
engage their customers, and keeping them secure in the complex
digital world. Armed with the world's largest and most precise
database of reputation insights and cryptographically secure
multifactor authentication methods, iovation safeguards tens of
millions of digital transactions each day.
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SOURCE iovation