The Rising Threats Against E-wallet Platforms

E-wallet platforms themselves are frequently the target of fraud attacks such as promo abuse. Fraudsters employ tools, including app cloners and emulators to create thousands of fake accounts. These accounts are then used to exploit platform incentives, including sign-up bonuses, referrals, and limited time-time offers. As a result, marketing budgets are wasted on fraudsters instead of rewarding genuine consumers and attracting new users. 

Another fraud tactic is user-merchant collusion, where fraudsters collude with dishonest merchants to exploit cashback or reward points awarded by the platform. ‘Purchases’ are made by fraudsters, who are later reimbursed by those merchants. Throughout the process, no goods change hands, making the transaction fraudulent. Marketing budgets designated to encourage usage and adoption are instead drained by fraudsters.

Many consumers have also been recruited into becoming money mules for money laundering, where criminals ask users to transfer money from their account to another. Fraudsters have even convinced users to sign up for new accounts for such purposes.

Fraudsters Conduct Increasingly Sophisticated Account Takeover (ATO) Attacks

Fraudsters are constantly trying to gain access to users’ accounts and the funds stored within. Their tactics include abusing accessibility permissions, as well as the use of malware and malicious tools. 

The exploitation of accessibility permissions has become a major part of ATO attacks. Fraudsters can manipulate users into downloading malicious apps and subsequently granting accessibility permissions to those apps. For example, fraudsters could then activate screen sharing and autoclickers without the victim’s knowledge. These make it easier for fraudsters to manipulate consumers, extract their money, and take over their accounts.

Another fraud technique enabled by malicious software is the creation of overlay screens when official banking apps are opened. These overlay screens are designed to look like they are part of the banking app while being part of a different app. This leads the user to enter their account credentials into the overlay interface rather than the actual banking apps, thus giving fraudsters account access. 

Fraudsters also use social engineering tactics, such as job, romance, impersonation, or investment scams. The goal of such schemes is to trick consumers into giving fraudsters their account credentials directly or into making security mistakes like downloading malware.

Establishing Maya as a Trailblazer for Trust

Maya turned to SHIELD’s cutting-edge AI technology to prevent fraud threats on its ecosystem. Thousands of device, network, and behavioral data points are analyzed by SHIELD’s proprietary machine learning models and cutting-edge AI engine in real time to create a comprehensive picture of risk.

SHIELD’s actionable risk intelligence prevents the use of malware and tools commonly associated with fraud such as autoclickers, thus addressing the issue of fraudsters exploiting accessibility permissions to conduct account takeovers. Maya also tapped SHIELD’s device identification technology to help eliminate fake accounts and prevent account takeovers.

Armed with these insights, Maya can stop fraudulent transactions without declining legitimate payments and money transfers. This ensures a seamless user experience while providing users complete peace of mind with comprehensive protection from fraudsters. 

“To help consumers and merchants embrace the benefits of cashless payments, we need to give them absolute confidence that their hard-earned money is in safe hands. Maya’s partnership with SHIELD gives our users the assurance that they are protected by world-class fraud prevention technology,” said Mitch Padua, Group Chief Product Officer, Maya.