Visa, MIT Reports: Card-Present Fraud Rising as In-Store Shopping Returns

As consumers have returned to shopping in physical stores, scammers have stepped up their use of card-present threats. 

For example, between June and November 2021, the number of physical skimming devices on ATMs and point-of-sale (POS) terminals soared 176% compared to the previous 12-month period, Visa reported Thursday (Oct. 6) in a press release sent to PYMNTS. 

At the same time, the online fraud that accelerated so quickly during the pandemic remains the biggest threat, with Visa’s Global Risk team finding that nearly three-quarters of fraud and data breach cases involve eCommerce merchants, according to the release. 

“As in-person commerce returns to pre-pandemic levels, crooks are back to exploiting the physical points of vulnerability in stores, while continuing to capitalize on [eCommerce] through malware, ransomware and phishing attacks, among others,” said Visa Chief Risk Officer Paul D. Fabara. 

These and other facts and figures are presented in two new reports: the latest Visa Biannual Threats Report and “Moving Money in a Digital World,” an MIT Technology Review Insights study released Thursday in partnership with Visa. 

Per the release, the most common threats to eCommerce merchants include social engineering, ransomware, third-party code integrations and digital skimming attacks that target eCommerce platforms.

Threat actors are also targeting cryptocurrency users. Here, they often use phishing, social engineering and malware that’s focused on browser extension wallets for crypto users, the release stated. 

In response to the attacks on digital commerce, many merchants are adding advanced security capabilities like digital tokens, artificial intelligence (AI) and enhanced authorization. Visa said it has invested more than $9 billion in network security over the past five years and now employs more than a thousand dedicated specialists together with AI-enabled capabilities. 

Visa reported in July that total third-quarter payments volumes were up 136% over levels seen three years ago. 

Read more: Visa Payments Volume in Q3 136% Above Pre-Pandemic Levels 

“Card present, excluding travel volumes in the U.S., remained significantly ahead of pre-pandemic levels at 170% of 2019,” Visa CEO Al Kelly said in July during the company’s quarterly earnings call.