90% of scam attempts take place on mobile phones, BioCatch report says

Research from BioCatch says 90% of scam attempts take place via mobile phones, while banking scams have increased by 35% over the past 12 months.

Purchase scams were the most common, accounting for 33% of attempts. Romance scams increased by 23% year over year, while investment scams had the highest average case value, at $6,600.

BioCatch says scammers and banks both use artificial intelligence techniques. Thomas Peacock, BioCatch’s director of global fraud intelligence, said AI has lowered the barrier for aspiring scammers to create convincing scams at scale. He said banks use behavioral intelligence to detect signs of manipulation and coercion before an account holder authorizes a transaction.

Jonathan Frost, BioCatch’s director of global advisory, said scammers can persuade customers to move money themselves, particularly in investment and romance scams. He described preventing payments from reaching criminals as a priority. The report notes that UK reimbursement can protect victims financially after a scam, but does not prevent the scam from succeeding.