Fraud Follows A Surge in Mobile Adoption

Mobile fraud attacks continue to be on an upward trajectory as mobile has become a prominent channel in launching fraud attacks. In the opening quarter of 2021, there was a 43% increase in mobile attack rate, rising to 32% from 19% in the last quarter of 2020.

There is an increase in attacks originating on mobile devices because more and more good users are interacting with businesses via mobile devices. Fraudsters are taking advantage of this rising popularity to launch mobile fraud attacks across multiple touchpoints. Mobile attacks are not only easy to launch but fraudsters can easily cover their tracks to evade detection. They are able to spoof devices due to the ease with which they can purchase IP addresses and associated mobile fingerprint devices from numerous websites.

Mobile attacks pose a huge challenge for the gaming industry

According to Statista, as of January 2021 mobile phones were the most used devices for gaming worldwide. Online gaming not only saw a prolific increase in the number of players but also in the number of hours as well as the money spent. It is estimated that during the pandemic the number of users playing video games in the U.S. rose to 79% while the time spent on gaming increased 26% and the money spent increased 33%. Online gaming companies experienced the biggest engagement levels and increased revenues that are projected to touch US$23,582m by 2021 and US$31,328m by 2025.

Gaming was also the top sector targeted by mobile-based fraud attacks. The gaming industry that has been under siege throughout 2020, saw high rates of mobile fraud attacks across all touchpoints during Q1. Overall, attacks from the mobile channel increased from 19% in Q4 2020 to 32% Q1 2021. These attacks were overwhelmingly bot-driven, as gaming platforms were barraged with bot attacks that contributed to nearly 97% of the attacks. Attackers launched high-volume campaigns to target multiple consumer touchpoints, including credential stuffing on logins – the most attacked touchpoint on the Arkose Labs network. 

Another industry that experiences a large section of users connecting through mobiles is media that encompasses dating, social, and streaming platforms. The…