TransUnion’s latest quarterly analysis of global online fraud trends found that fraudsters are decreasing their schemes against businesses, but increasing COVID-19 focused scams against consumers online.

Counterfeiters do not take time off. At its core, counterfeiting preys upon our vulnerabilities and takes advantage of the average customer at any cost. This is particularly true right now during the coronavirus pandemic, the most inconvenient and vulnerable moment in generations. In the midst of mass shortages and colossal demands for certain products, especially in the health field, the counterfeit community has seen a golden opportunity. Over the past few months, tens of millions of new counterfeit products have been seized or identified on the web. These include fraudulent face masks, ventilators, disinfectants and testing kits.

There was a 7.3 percent increase in the cost of fraud year-over-year for U.S. e-commerce and retail merchants, according to a new LexisNexis Risk Solutions report.

The Federal Communications Commission proposed a $225 million fine against Texas-based health insurance telemarketers for making approximately 1 billion illegally spoofed robocalls.

According to the Federal Trade Commission’s Report, from January 1st through April 15th, Americans have reported losing $13.44 million dollars to fraud and they’ve received 18,235 reports related to COVID-19. To avoid coronavirus scams, it’s crucial to understand and identify the red flags and behaviors of “fear scammers.”

TransUnion released its quarterly analysis of global online fraud trends, which found that the telecommunications, e-commerce and financial services industries have been increasingly impacted.

When an incident or disaster occurs, security and fraud investigators go to work. They must be able to rely on innovative processes and tools that allow them to swiftly locate and analyze the information needed to determine the proper resolution or action. Credit unions need intuitive solutions that can be leveraged across multiple departments in a moment's notice to be more efficient and effective in today’s challenging environment.