UK Cybersecurity Head Claims That Black Friday Is Becoming Black Fraud Day
Over £ 11.5 million was lost to fraud during the holiday season last year , according to data that suggests criminals are exploiting AI to deceive consumers.
Britain's cybersecurity head claimed that scammers were exploiting artificial intelligence to deceive consumers, claiming that Black Friday is quickly turning into Black Fraud Day. People in the UK were defrauded of almost £11.5 million last Christmas, according to data, which is nearly £1 million more than, during the same time in 2022. This was due to internet crooks taking advantage of people's desire to save money during the cost of living crisis. Social media listings for expensive technology or fake apparel were among the most popular tricks used to trick customers.
According to Richard Horne, the CEO of GCHQ's National Cybersecurity Centre ( NCSC ), the holiday season had turned into " prime time for cybercriminals" as shopper's looked for discounts. " Scammers were targeting bargain hunters with Increasingly sophisticated scams, sometimes crafted using AI making them harder to detect, " he continued. An average of £695 was lost by each victim of online shopping fraud, which was reported in over 16,000 cases cases between November 2023 and January 2024. A social media site was mentioned in 7,168 (43%) of the UK's scam reporting center.
In 18.9% of reports, online market places were mentioned. Scammers seems to be stepping up their efforts because there is so much money at risk. Customers of telecom provider, three reported that they were already receiving more communications from scammers during the Black Friday season last year, three received about 3,500 scam reports everyday. According to the data, the number of scam communications reported monthly has increased by 170,000 since January compared to 2023.
The NCSC, which is starting a public awareness campaign on Monday, encourages customers to use two- step verification to protect themselves against scammers. This adds on additional layer of security and ensures that even if a criminal knows your password, they will still be unable to access your accounts. Additional guidance is to avoid clicking on any links and to investigate the seller or business by reading reviews or reliable review websites.
