Data predicts upsurge in Black Friday fraud for online gambling industry

Identity verification company Jumio has today warned online gambling operators to prepare for a surge in fraud attacks between Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Exclusive new data from the business shows that online gambling fraud has increased by 67% during the busy shopping period since 2014. In 2016, Jumio found that fraud in the sector was 32% higher between Black Friday and Cyber Monday compared to the daily average for the year.

Announcing the data, Anies Khan, Head of Gaming at 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.’’

In its research, Jumio compared fraud patterns from 2014 to 2016 for online ID verifications across a range of industries for the week 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, available on Gambling Insider next week.