Yubico comments on AI in retail fraud
 

With the trend of fraudsters using AI tools such as large language models to produce deceptive scam emails, fake advertisements and bogus websites to target consumers during cultural shopping events, we ask Ben Eichorst, Director of Infrastructure Security, Yubico (www.yubico.com) for his views.

“A significant part of online shopping revolves around trusting an online retailer is who they say they are, and effectively safeguarding personal and financial information.  Despite a mistrust of online retailers, Yubico research shows that consumers are still storing their personal and financial information on these websites.  In fact, our research shows that one third of respondents were not confident that they could spot a fraudulent or fake online retailer and 33% say they save their credit card information in their online accounts.”
 
“While it is technically easy for retailers to implement basic username and password authentication for their customers, these types of credentials alone are easy for attackers to circumvent, allowing unauthorised access to online accounts.  During busy online shopping months, consumers may be tempted to adopt risky habits such as reusing passwords across services, or clicking on order information links that appear legitimate. These kinds of behaviours put consumers at a higher risk for their accounts to be compromised.”
 
An overview of the report, ‘Yubico and OnePoll – In a growing era of sophisticated phishing attacks, have people adjusted their cybersecurity hygiene?’, can be found at https://resources.yubico.com/53ZDUYE6/at/4tnjf28rnx9p9wchf97xzhx/Yubico_and_OnePoll_Survey_2023_Report.pdf?format=pdf