You must have heard people saying that there are a lot of bots on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Twitter. However, if you are not a tech-savvy person then you would not know what they mean. Well, bots are basically short-term for robots. But in this context, bots are accounts that are operating automatically and are fake accounts in general. They have been scripted to do certain tasks such as liking posts, following accounts and many other actions.
Now, it has been found out that attackers also use bot accounts in order to attack social media platforms. For criminals who are looking to have quick money, they target social media platforms with fake accounts. A report reveals that more than half of the logins on social media sites are fraudulent and 25% of all new account applications on social media are fraud ones. The same reports also found that one in 10 transactions are attacks, ranging from automated bots to malicious humans. It is also found out that the top countries which are originators of these attacks are U.S., Russia, the Philippines, UK and Indonesia.
As far as the tech sector is concerned, it is crowded with human click-farms and sweatshops, which employ a large group of low-paid workers hired specifically to make fraudulent transactions or create fake accounts. “Technology companies who offer a ‘freemium’ model with quick, frictionless onboarding for new customers are attractive targets for fraudsters looking to test stolen credentials or create fake accounts to access the services,” the report finds.
“2019 is tracking to be a record year for data breaches and all of the recent tech breaches are providing fraudsters with refreshed access to new information. As we head into the holiday season, it is clear that businesses will experience the impact in terms of new fraud attacks.” the report concludes.