Black Friday and Cyber Monday may be behind us, but the holiday shopping rush has only just begun. Between now and January 1, millions of people will order gifts for family and friends online and on mobile. Last year, the sharp uptick in holiday shopping was accompanied by a 22% increase in ecommerce fraud. If […]
Who Scams the Scammers? What We can Learn from Fraud Vigilantes
You’re probably already familiar with some of the folks who spend their days fighting fraud. For example, fraud analysts at e-commerce companies who do battle against scammers, or businesses like Sift Science that are using innovative approaches to cut down on fraud. But there’s a shadow industry of fraud fighters who are also working quietly […]
[Podcast] Content Moderation: Best Practices
User-generated content (UGC) is the lifeblood of online marketplaces and communities. When someone posts fraudulent, abusive, or spammy content on your site, it doesn’t just look bad: it’s a visible, public indication that your business isn’t safe. Content abuse hurts your brand and hits your bottom line. Content moderators are often the first line of […]
[Infographic] The 9 Flavors of Content Spam
Remember email spam? It used to be the scourge of the inbox, drowning out legitimate messages with sketchy offers for cheap pills and fast loans. But thanks to machine learning, these days you rarely see an unsolicited ad or offer pop up in email. The bad news? Instead, scammers have moved on to plague communities, […]
Botpocalypse: Spammy Content and Phony Engagement Make Up the New Face of Social Media
Sixty-nine percent of American adults use social media in some form. From Facebook to Instagram, Snapchat to YouTube, social media platforms connect family, friends, and strangers in a way that is unprecedented in the annals of human history. But with this exchanging of words, images, and ideas – oftentimes behind a pseudonym and an avatar […]
The Many Faces of Content Abuse
The Power of User-Generated Content User-generated content (UGC) is the lifeblood of online marketplaces and communities. Businesses like Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, Airbnb, and Indeed are built around UGC. That means if they can’t entice people to contribute to their site, then they simply don’t have a business. And when a company’s future is in the […]
Stop bad content before it’s posted, and build better communities
A listing that leads to a phony or non-existent product, apartment, or job. Spammy or abusive comments polluting your dating app or community. Messages from fraudulent sellers luring your buyers offsite… Sound familiar? Trust is difficult to earn, but easy to lose – and if you’re a community or marketplace, the integrity of your site […]
5 Ways Fraud Hasn’t Changed Since the 19th Century
Spam, phishing, endless email chains… Sometimes we wish we lived in simpler times, when we didn’t have to worry about fraudsters sneaking into our inboxes or lurking in our DMs. But the fraud we see on the internet is actually much older than the internet itself. In fact, fraud hasn’t changed all that much since […]
A Fast Fraud Field Guide
It’s a jungle out there. Whether you run a retail site, deal in Bitcoins, offer travel bookings, or engineered a social media app, there’s probably some form of fraud plaguing your business. Fraudsters are on the prowl, trying to capitalize on incentives, easy sign-ups, and anonymous buying.
The first step in fighting fraud is recognizing who you’re dealing with. Think you’re all alone in the struggle against spammers? We’ve got you covered with this quick online fraud field guide.