The year 2016 has not been a good one for the financial sector. Not only are major banks colluding to commit fraud using customer details to create fake accounts, but other types of fraud are on the rise as well. It appears these numbers will continue to go up over time, all of which is facilitated by the traditional financial sector. Things are looking promising Bitcoin; that much is certain.
2016 Was A Busy Year For Fraud
Business owners will not look back on 2016 as a positive year by any means. The loss of funds is just one aspect of fraudulent transactions, as it also causes a lack of faith in the brand itself. Plus, there are quite a lot of fees associated with dealing with fraudulent payments, as the retailers often bear the brunt of these issues.
But financial experts are not predicting a future that will see big improvements. In fact, they expect fraud losses will only go up. Criminals and scammers are using so many different techniques; it becomes almost impossible to protect oneself against every possible mode of attack. More payment options hinging on traditional solutions will only make this more difficult over time.
Online payments remain the biggest culprit of fraudulent payments to date. It becomes increasingly easy to obtain one’s bank or credit card information and abuse it online. Retailers need to develop clear policies and step up their fraud screening efforts to reduce malicious payments. That is much easier said than done, though, as Card Not Present fraud has been a pain in the neck for several years already.
It is evident new security precautions will need to be developed if fraud rates are to be reduced. For now, more advanced solutions are only affordable to large enterprises, creating can uneven playing field. That unfair situation can no longer be maintained, as fraud affects everyone in the same way. But smaller businesses have a harder time coping with all additional costs, compared to their bigger counterparts.
All of this goes to show how insecure traditional financial solutions are. Payment cards and bank accounts are big ticket items on the darknet, and this type of information is in high demand. It is also rather easy for criminals to obtain this information these days. More secure solutions are needed, and Bitcoin remains the prime candidate to fill that gap.
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