As published in Direct Marketing Magazine (page 20), by Rich Stuppy – 01/14/2020
An evening at the movies recently turned into a frustrating experience for many Canadians: when they discovered that the valuable points they had collected on their movie rewards cards had disappeared into a black hole.
A lot of people view loyalty points as a perk, a fringe benefit. But cybercriminals see rewards points for what they are: currency. And they go to great lengths to target high-dollar accounts and steal those points. Indeed, account takeover attacks have tripled in the last year alone and have cost consumers more than $5.1 billion worldwide, according to the 2018 Identity Fraud Report published by Javelin Strategy & Research. And, with businesses themselves now discussing rewards points as currency, expect the attacks to continue in the future because of the potential value to thieves.
So, what can be done?