England has emerged as the most cheated nation in the world.
The UK was the most attacked nation in the world in Q2, the most defrauded, with businesses there being hit 50% more often than their American counterparts, according to the latest statistics from ThreatMetrix.
Digital Identity Network analysed over three billion transactions globally, across 3,000 clients and 15,000 websites to compile its latest findings, revealing that UK businesses are at greater risk of online fraud than anywhere else in the world.
ThreatMetrix's senior director of product strategy and marketing, Vanita Pandey, argued that the figures reflect the fact that the UK is the financial capital of Europe and one of the world's most important business centres.
“They face attacks from a range of cyber-criminals ranging from those working independently to organized nation-state criminal organizations,” he told Infosecurity.
“On the other hand, the transition to digital banking has been rapid and financial institutions must adapt as quickly as possible to meet the demands of connected consumers.”
However, many of these banks still rely on first-generation fraud prevention that uses “browser fingerprinting” – which makes them a prime target for cybercriminals, he added. “As a result, cyberattacks are increasing in size, complexity and risk.”
But the UK is the most defrauded because it is also home to some of the world's most prolific fraudsters, as the second highest place of origin for online fraud after the US.
Although many of these scams involve transnational gangs, many also require local criminals – someone to fraudulently obtain the funds and transfer them abroad, explained Stephen Moody, director of ThreatMetrix EMEA solutions.
“We see a trend globally where if we look at any given country, the majority (70%+) of direct attacks come from within that country with the remainder coming from the periphery or other major centers, such as the UK and US,” he told Infosecurity via email.
One of the biggest reasons the UK is so vulnerable to cybercrime is that cybercrime gangs are more likely to have English language skills than other languages and therefore find it easier to launch attacks from their home country, Moody's argued.
