An industry that is set to reach $12,350 billion by 2030 is facing an unprecedented level of problem in the form of cybercrime. Yes, the online retail sector is booming and providing new opportunities to businesses at various levels. It’s adding new customers and retaining new ones at an impressive rate. These large numbers, though, have led the scammers to target retail brand identities as they keep coming up with sophisticated techniques that usually outpace the speed with which new ways are devised to tackle them.
Heavyweight names like Amazon, Walmart, eBay, Apple, Target, Temu, Shein, etc. are synonyms for quality. They are about trust and this is where scammers make things tricky. Using the already-built brand reputation, they exploit customer trust. Retail cybersecurity is therefore a burning issue for all major and minor players in the industry.
Fake support emails
One of the most common methods that remain popular among scammers is using fake customer support emails. They design brand emails professionally and use psychological techniques to create urgency and fear in customers. This ultimately leads customers into clicking unwanted links, downloading harmful files or giving away access to key accounts. Numerous trends on this pattern have been observed in the past and continue to wreak havoc even today.
Understanding this with a real case will make things clearer. Geek Squad is a legit tech support company run by Best Buy. Scammers know that the brand enjoys immense popularity among people in the US. To exploit this positive image, they send fake Geek Squad email to trick customers into believing that they have been contacted by the genuine team. The bait could be anything from an email claiming a charge for antivirus tool renewal, which is in hundreds of dollars to a pop-up alert asking users to contact the support team.
The final action from scammers is to get remote access to a user’s device to steal data or simply install software that leads to malware on the system. One of the best ways to stay safe from such emails is to install Moonlock. It can alert you and quarantine the malicious file. Besides, you should be able to differentiate a genuine email from a fake one. Online retailers regularly run campaigns to make users aware, which does have a positive impact but overall, it’s still a problem that needs better understanding from all sides.
Cloned retail websites
Just like genuine-looking emails, there are fake websites created by scammers. They make it look so identical that common users fail to spot the differences and that’s mostly because they copy the following so perfectly:
- Brand logo
- Product pages, descriptions, reviews
- Checkout method
- Customer support – with an intended email and phone number
- Promotional banners – showing urgency or extraordinary deals
These clone sites are among the biggest threats to e-commerce businesses and the customers.
Fake shipping notifications
Regular updates showing the stages of delivery a product has completed are common on most e-commerce platforms. Customers expect fast delivery so the excitement makes them track the product journey constantly.
Cybercriminals make use of this situation by sending fake messages that will talk about delivery delays, pending fees/additional charges, location verification, total shipment failure, new links to track, etc. Companies know that retail data security systems have to keep delivery details tightly guarded but scammers manage to find loopholes at the customer end.
AI-generated phishing campaigns
Artificial intelligence has improved how online retailers operate and provide excellent services to customers. But at the same time, AI has proved to be an ideal tool for scammers too with which they can improve their way of functioning. There was a time when there were poorly written fake emails with a lot of grammar errors and formatting but now that’s a thing of the past – all thanks to AI.
Similarly, creating logos, clone websites, AI-based videos and audios for social media and phone call-based scams is common. They challenge cybersecurity in retail by creating as good as original or realistic material that customers do not suspect.
Social media retail scams
For every online retail brand, social media presence is its lifeline. Cybercriminals impersonate popular brands with DPs, content, usernames and promotions that are strikingly similar to the original source. By running fake ads and direct contacts on social media, they are mostly successful in bypassing retail cyber security solutions.
Search engine ad impersonation
Cyber attacks on retail industry are common through search engine ads. Google has been a hot working ground for them to carry out scams that target popular brands’ identities. They run ads strategically and aggressively with the final aim to place themselves over the organic results that would display the original brand first.
These fake pages lure users by offering attractive discounts, flash sales, etc. Once customers log in to these pages, their credentials, payment details or account data are stolen in an instant. During major shopping seasons like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, these are even more rampant because at that time customers are in a state of excitement to buy things that they have been waiting for a long time. Unbelievable discounts and limited stock campaigns make them click on desired links from scammers easily.
What retailers are doing about it
Online retailers are aware of the growing menace of scams which are based on exploiting their brand identities. They are investing heavily in cybersecurity measures to minimize the damage that cybercriminals cause to their reputation and revenue. They also aim to safeguard their customer base. For this, retailers now:
cannot completely eliminate impersonation scams, but they can significantly reduce their impact through stronger customer education and proactive security systems.
- Promote the use of multi-factor authentication
- Have dedicated teams that monitor fake sites, social media accounts and emails
- Run awareness campaigns for customers
- Fortifying email, text messages and social media authentication systems
- Securing mobile apps and payment systems
- Use high-end fraud detection tools that target scammers’ affiliate networks, chargeback abuse, fake traffic, etc.
Conclusion
The growth in the online retail industry has been phenomenal. Cybercriminals see this as a big opportunity so there is a constant race between them and popular brands to outsmart each other. In the end, it’s the customers that bear the brunt of. Online brands continue to work towards finding solutions that can safeguard their systems and customers but there’s still a long way to go. Customers should still work at their end too through right information and using reliable cybersecurity tools to maximize their security when shopping online.
