Black Friday shoppers at risk of email fraud: Proofpoint

According to Proofpoint, Inc.’s research, eight of the top nine online merchants in the UAE have a DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) record in place. Clients are more prone to cyberattacks on Black Friday and Cyber Monday special deals.

Emile Abou Saleh, Regional Director, Middle East and Africa for Proofpoint, said: “Cybercriminals are on the lookout for festive seasons and high sales period to drive targeted attacks through impersonation and retailers are no exception to this. While the Black Friday and Cyber Monday high sales period is a time to grab the best deals, it could also be a potential target zone for cybercriminals to attack. Our research has found that most retailers in the UAE are not implementing effective protection and email authentication best practices to safeguard themselves and their customers.”

“Organisations across all sectors should deploy authentication protocols, such as DMARC, to bolster their email fraud defences. From a consumer standpoint, it is vital to remain vigilant and check the validity of all emails and protect customers and businesses,” added Abou Saleh.

Only three of the nine merchants (33 percent) have implemented the strictest and recommended levels of DMARC protection, which allows them to detect and filter fake emails. Customers of 67 percent of the country’s biggest merchants are now vulnerable to email fraud.

Retailers must guarantee that their clients are protected against potential cybersecurity attacks as they prepare for large online sales volumes during Black Friday and Cyber Monday special deals.

To deceive customers, cybercriminals use domain spoofing to impersonate well-known firms and send emails from allegedly valid sender addresses. These emails are intended to get users to provide personal information that can be used to commit fraud. Retailers can protect their employees, customers, and partners against cybercriminals by implementing a DMARC strategy.

In the Forbes Worldwide 2000, which includes 70 companies, UAE-based retailers, on the other hand, rate higher than global retailers. According to a Proofpoint survey, 30% of the Forbes Global 2000 shops (21 out of 70) have no DMARC record and are vulnerable to email fraud and domain impersonation.

Furthermore, while 70% of Forbes Global 2000 shops have implemented some form of DMARC, only 20% (14 out of 70) have reached the maximum degree of protection and are actively stopping fraudulent emails from reaching customers, partners, vendors, and employees.

According to Statista, the market size of the UAE’s e-commerce industry is predicted to expand from seven billion US dollars in 2020 to 17 billion US dollars by 2025, after accounting for the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on e-commerce.