Money Laundering Attempts Quadrupled in 2020

According to Kaspersky Lab, in 2020, cybercriminals most frequently attempted unauthorized money transfers using compromised accounts (36% of cases) or infected devices with malware to facilitate these transfers (31%). Last year, attacks involving malware were the clear leader, accounting for 63% of all incidents.

Researchers note that the share of incidents related to money laundering increased fourfold over the year, reaching 12%. To launder money, criminals use complex, multi-stage schemes: they repeatedly change accounts, companies, forms of representation, currencies, and jurisdictions.

Fraud in E-Commerce

In the e-commerce sector, the most common type of fraud was the abuse of welcome bonuses in loyalty programs. The scheme is fairly simple: fraudsters register multiple accounts on a marketplace, receive welcome bonus points, and use them to purchase goods at a discount through the bonus program. For example, in one case, a scammer bought diapers and candy, then resold the purchased goods for profit on popular trading platforms. The created accounts were not used again, with an average lifespan of just 1-2 days.

Other Common Fraud Methods

“One of the most common methods of fraud remains the use of remote access applications. In addition, criminals have mastered the technique of spoofing incoming call numbers. Unfortunately, bank clients often fall for this trick, as they are used to receiving legitimate calls from financial organizations from various numbers,” commented Ekaterina Danilova, Business Development Manager at Kaspersky Fraud Prevention.