The move to EMV technology is designed to reduce counterfeit credit card fraud. However, as merchants and other businesses prepare for the EMV liability shift, fraudsters are taking notice and evolving their tactics to “beat” the new security measures. In sum, a move meant to improve security may, in the short-term, move fraudulent behavior to the online environment or identity fraud such as application fraud and account take over.
According to Javelin Strategy & Research, a new case of identity fraud occurs every two seconds. With this as a backdrop, institutions need to take extra measures to verify the identity of the customers they serve. For starters, merchants must maintain tighter controls of the consumer data they distribute as this provides an easy way for organized criminals to purchase the data and misuse it for monetary gain.