NEW YORK—The price tag for fraud just continues to rise.
According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, the money lost annually by businesses to fraudsters amounts to more than $3.5 trillion.
A new report in PYMNTS.com emphasized that not only is the cost of fraud increasing, but so, too, is another threat. Analysts have stated that as EMV takes hold in the U.S., crooks are turning less to stealing money from plastic and instead are taking over financial accounts.
The Q3 Global Fraud Attack Index data indicates that instances of fraud are on the rise, growing by 126% in the last year. Fraud attacks more than doubled between Q2 2015 and Q1 2016, and attacks also rose 27% from Q4 2015 to Q1 2016, PYMNTS.com reported.
“Account takeovers are quickly emerging to become one of the most common forms of fraud, according to the latest Index findings. As of Q1 2016, they accounted for 2% of fraud activity in Europe, 4% in the United States and more than 25% of attempts around the world,” PYMNTS.com reported.
Since the start of 2015, the cost of fraud has risen from less than $2 out of every $100 subject to a fraud attack to more than $7 out of every $100 by Q1 2016.