Visa reported a 200% increase in suspected fraudulent transactions during Cyber ​​Monday 2024

A cumulative investment of $11 billion in advanced technologies over the past five years has enabled Visa Block 85% more suspected fraud during Cyber ​​Monday 2024, compared to the same event last year. This result highlights the impact of their tools based on artificial intelligence (IA).

According to Visa Authorization data, Global, Between November 29 and December 2, 2024, there was a 200% increase in suspected fraudulent transactions globallydriven largely by the adoption of AI by fraudsters, highlighting the growing sophistication of cybercriminals at a key time for global commerce.

“Criminals are using artificial intelligence more and more, but so are we. And that is paying off.”said Paul Fabara, global leader of Risk and Client Services at Visa.

“As we saw at the start of the holiday shopping season this weekend, Visa continues to stop more fraud attempts, delivering on our mission to be the safest way to pay and receive payments for everyone, everywhere,” he added.

Protection tools for consumers

In early 2024, the company launched the Visa Account Attack Intelligence Score (VAAI Score), designed to detect and prevent fraudulent attacks before they occur, with its key implementation being to protect both online shoppers and those who opt for physical stores during the festive season.

The VAAI Score was developed using pattern-detecting generative AI, which was trained with data from more than 15 billion VisaNet transactions; This model incorporates six times more features than its previous versions and offers real-time risk assessments in just 20 milliseconds.

The tool was trained and designed to counter advanced fraud tactics, such as automated scripts and botnets, allowing $40 billion to be blocked globally in fraudulent transactions during fiscal year 2023.

However, despite all security efforts, the payment technology company urges consumers to remain alert and aware of possible threats.

Employment scams on the rise

According to Visa’s Holiday Threats Report, which highlights scam trends that consumers should be aware of, during the holiday season, marked by high temporary hiring, Reports of employment scams increased an alarming 545%, evidencing a worrying trend in this type of fraud.

Among the most common strategies, criminals post fake ads on legitimate job boards, spoof real company websites, or pose as recruiters, with the goal of obtaining personal information or payments from victims.

Millions of phishing attempts blocked in 2024

According to Kaspersky’s 2024 Threat Landscape reportmore than 697 million phishing attempts were blocked in the region during the last 12 monthswhich represents a growth of 2.4 times compared to the 2022-2023 period. This is equivalent to 1,326 attack attempts per minute, a figure that highlights the magnitude of the challenge.

In Latin America, phishing attempts have shown a worrying escalation, Brazil being the most affected country, followed by Mexico, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador, respectively.