99 percent of frauds in last 24 months have been on social media and other platforms

May 11, 2023 By: Rounak Jain

Perpetrators are misusing platforms for frauds

A report by PwC India states that 99 percent of frauds in the last 24 months in India have taken place on social media, ecommerce, media sharing services, financial platforms, and other similar services. Credit: Canva

What are platform frauds?

Frauds which take place on platforms like social media, ecommerce, media sharing services, financial services and others are known as platform frauds. Credit: Canva

Why are platform frauds important to understand?

Given the prevalence of social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, or ecommerce services like Amazon, Flipkart, and payment services like banking apps are in the lives of common users, especially in a post-Covid world, understanding platform fraud is essential to avoid them. Credit: Canva

Indian organisations suffer heavy losses

Platform frauds have led to 26 percent of Indian organisations losing over $1 million each as a result. Credit: Canva

Here’s how most platform frauds were executed

According to the report, 42 percent of the frauds were executed via identity theft or account takeover, while device theft accounted for 25 percent of the frauds. Credit: Canva

86 percent of the frauds led to two types of losses

Platform frauds have caused financial losses in 48 percent of the cases, while businesses experienced disruption or failure in 38 percent of the cases. Credit: Canva

Most frauds done for monetary gains

Unsurprisingly, 44 percent of the perpetrators committed frauds with the intention of making monetary gains. Credit: Canva

Damaging a brand is the second biggest motivator

Damaging the image of a brand is the second most motivating factor for perpetrators to commit frauds, with 32 percent of the surveyed organisations citing this as the reason. Credit: Canva

Gaining a competitive edge is another factor

The rat race to get ahead of the competition is the third reason in the list, accounting for 21 percent of the frauds committed in 2022. Credit: Canva

4 out of 10 perpetrators were internal saboteurs

Internal saboteurs accounted for 4 out of 10 perpetrators in 2022, while external perpetrators were relatively fewer at 33 percent, while 26 percent of the frauds were committed by collusion between internal and external perpetrators. Credit: Canva