The holiday shopping season is a crucial time for payments giant Visa. Transaction volumes surge, providing a boost in sales, but it also opens the door for cybercriminals to exploit vulnerabilities and steal consumer data.
The Cybersecurity Challenge
According to Paul Fabara, Visa’s chief risk officer, “We know from historical experience that the holiday shopping season is fraudsters’ Super Bowl given the increase in spend and transactions.” In an exclusive interview with VentureBeat, he further adds, “In particular, online shopping sees a significant uptick and is also the channel disproportionately targeted by bad actors.”
Visa’s latest biannual threats report highlights that fraudsters now have access to powerful tools, including artificial intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT. Fabara acknowledges, “With new products like ChatGPT, we’re quickly seeing the potential for AI’s positive and negative uses… threat actors have quickly identified ways to exploit AI and Advanced Language Models (ALM) for fraud.”
“We’re quickly seeing the potential for AI’s positive and negative uses… threat actors have quickly identified ways to exploit AI and Advanced Language Models (ALM) for fraud.”
The report warns that these AI systems make it easier for criminals to create convincing phishing lures, develop undetectable malware, and socially engineer victims on a massive scale. To combat these evolving threats, Visa has invested heavily in AI-powered defense systems.
Visa’s Defense Strategies
Fabara states, “Over the last 10 years, Visa has spent more than $3 billion on AI and data infrastructure to enable the safer, smarter movement of money and to proactively identify and prevent fraud. Today, we have several hundred AI models in production, powering over 100 products.”
Visa’s AI-enabled anti-fraud arsenal analyzes transactions in real time, evaluating up to 500 unique risk factors within 300 milliseconds to pinpoint criminal activity. Fabara also emphasizes the significance of human intelligence in the fight against fraud, as Visa collaborates with clients and other entities in the payments ecosystem to identify and investigate potential fraudulent activity.
“We collaborate with clients as well as other entities across the payments ecosystem, including merchants, to identify and investigate potential fraudulent activity.”
Consumer awareness and vigilance are key in staying safe during the holiday season. Fabara recommends proactive measures such as using multi-factor authentication, creating complex and unique passwords, and being cautious of sophisticated phishing tactics.
According to a new McKinsey report, e-commerce sales have doubled in the past five years and are expected to nearly double again by 2026. With the stakes continuously rising in the holiday fraud battle, Visa and its clients can rely on seasoned leaders like Fabara to confront the challenges head-on.
As Fabara states, “With new products like ChatGPT, we’re quickly seeing the potential for AI’s positive and negative uses… threat actors have quickly identified ways to exploit AI and Advanced Language Models (ALM) for fraud.”
Overall, Visa’s investment in AI and its collaboration with the payments ecosystem position it well in the ongoing battle against cybercriminals, particularly during the high-risk holiday period.
