Report: 24 million U.S. households have fallen victim to account takeover fraud

According to a new report by SEON, around 24 million U.S. households have fallen victim to a form of account takeover (ATO) fraud in the past year. The report indicates the average successful ATO incurs a loss of around $12,000 per victim. This means that around $288 billion has been lost to this form of fraud in the last year alone.  

ATO fraud happens when a criminal gains access to a genuine consumer account. It can affect anyone and any type of account, including social media, email, online banking and even credit cards. As SEON’s report highlights, attacks of this nature are becoming extremely common online, which should cause concern for businesses and consumers alike. 

By analyzing research from a multitude of sources, including its own internal data, SEON’s report offers a wide-ranging assessment of ATO fraud. As the report states, around 51% of successful ATO attacks are targeted at social media accounts, with banking accounts comprising 32% of all breaches. 

Further on, SEON’s report provides a breakdown of the different monetary loss per victim of online crime in each state across the U.S. As the report shows, North Dakota is the worst affected region in America, with its average loss per victim of online crime totaling $31,177, a figure nearly 65% higher than the state in second place, New York. 

Read the full report by SEON.