Top Fraud Findings From Crypto Expo Asia 2022

Sift recently had the pleasure of attending and speaking at Crypto Expo Asia in Singapore, the largest event in Asia for crypto industry leaders. Some of the biggest brands in the space shared meaningful insights on emerging trends with other crypto exchanges, DeFi companies, and crypto gaming companies. The premier cryptocurrency event featured many esteemed speakers, including Gadaffi Maricar, Head of APAC at Sift, who spoke about enabling frictionless experiences against rising crypto fraud. During the expo, Sift was proud to accept the Best Digital Trust & Safety Technology Provider award.

Top fraud trends overheard at Crypto Expo Asia

Rapid innovation needs to be secure in order to survive. Implementing a one-and-done solution isn’t enough to prevent fraud—businesses need to protect the entire user journey and continuously be on the lookout for loopholes. Because if you’re not proactive, your business could be on the line. And in an unpredictable economic environment, securing transactions and improving conversions is all the more important.

Payment fraud is as rampant as ever. From textbook credit card fraud to complex automation, fraudsters are doubling down on successful methods of attack, including payment fraud. From 2020 to 2021, attempted payment fraud jumped 23% across the Sift network. And fintech has been hit especially hard in recent years, with payment fraud attacks surging 200% in digital wallets, 169% in PSPs, and 140% in crypto.

Identity fraud and synthetic ID fraud get more sophisticated. Account takeover and identity theft are on the rise, with ATO surging 307% from 2019-2021. Fraudsters are rapidly advancing the technology they use to outsmart businesses and consumers alike, increasingly using synthetic identity fraud to trick businesses into thinking they’re legitimate users.

KYC isn’t enough to stop fraud. While Know Your Customer (KYC) authentication is an important part of securing crypto sites, it’s not enough to stop fraud on its own. Instead, businesses should use it as part of a layered approach to prevent fraud combined with an ML-powered Digital Trust & Safety strategy. 

Tips for staying a step ahead of fraud

To protect businesses against the 1% of users with fraudulent intentions, authentication solutions must cover all points of the user journey. “It’s important to remember that 99% of users are trustworthy, and their customer experience must be prioritized as well. A machine learning fraud prevention platform and authentication solution can provide the right friction to the right users,” said Maricar. Sift’s Dynamic Friction equips businesses with the tools to accurately assess risk and customize user experiences in real time to reduce friction for trusted users while shutting down fraudsters.

“Regardless of the current market conditions, fraudsters will always be lurking and looking for opportunities. And we’ve found that fraud is interconnected, with attacks in one industry impacting all industries. That’s where Sift’s global network of 34k sites and apps comes in,” said Maricar.

Take our Digital Trust & Safety Assessment to get more insights and custom recommendations for your business from our trust and safety experts.