Identity verification expert Jumio has warned igaming operators to prepare for a surge in fraud attacks between this week's Black Friday and subsequent Cyber Monday, the annual pre-Christmas online sales bonanza that has become a global tradition.
Exclusive new data shows that online gambling fraud has increased by 67 per cent during the busy shopping period since 2014.
In 2016, Jumio found that fraud in the sector was 32 per cent higher between Black Friday and Cyber Monday compared to the daily average for the year.
Anies Khan, head of gaming for Jumio, said: ‘’Annual fraud reports in the retail sector are commonplace after every Black Friday and Cyber Monday but our data suggests that fraudsters are now seriously targeting the online gambling industry during this period.
“It is crucial for gaming operators to implement accurate identity verification safeguards to mitigate against this growing threat, especially during the new account opening process.’’
Jumio, which works with many of the largest igaming sites in the EU, compared fraud patterns from 2014 to 2016 for online ID verifications across a range of industries for the days between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, including the day before and after each event.
These results were then compared with average fraud rates from the rest of the year to discern significant spikes in the online gambling sector.
Jumio will release further data analysing this year’s Black Friday to Cyber Monday period, which will be available next week.
