Website Impersonation Scams Surge, Solutions Fall Short

USA- Website impersonation scams have become a growing problem, although many businesses aren’t happy with the tools they have to address them.

A study released Tuesday by digital risk protection solutions company Memcyco found that nearly three-quarters of businesses have deployed a digital impersonation protection solution to avert online scams, but only 6% of those organizations are satisfied that it protects them and their customers. “That’s really shocking,” Memcyco CMO Eran Tsur told TechNewsWorld.

According to the study, more than two-thirds of businesses (68%) know their websites are being impersonated, and almost half (44%) know this directly impacts their customers. The study is based on a survey of 200 full-time director-to-C-level employees in the security, fraud, digital, and web industries in the United States and the United Kingdom.

“A spoofed website can lead to significant financial losses for customers if they are tricked into providing login credentials or sensitive personal information,” said Matthew Corwin, managing director of Guidepost Solutions, a global security, compliance, and investigations firm.

“Brand reputation can be severely damaged if customers fall victim to scams perpetrated through an impersonated website, eroding trust in the company,” he told TechNewsWorld.

A website impersonation scam can harm more than a company’s reputation. “There can also be direct financial losses from fraud, as well as indirect costs related to remediation, legal fees, and possibly some customer compensation,” Ted Miracco, CEO of Approov Mobile Security, a global mobile application security company, told TechNewsWorld.

Leaning on Customer Reports for Detection

The study also found that the most common way two-thirds (66%) of the surveyed companies became aware of website impersonation attacks was through incident reports from affected customers. “That’s unbelievable,” Tsur said. “Not only are the deployed solutions not protecting against or preventing these attacks, the organizations don’t have a clue whether these attacks have taken place or not.”

Guidepost Solutions’ Corwin noted that businesses that depend primarily on customer reports to detect impersonation scams might miss out on crucial early warnings and the opportunity to defend against emerging threats proactively. “A reactive approach puts the burden on customers, which can damage customer relationships and trust,” he said.

Source: Techworld