Unlike credit card fraud attacks, which usually result in a single chargeback or account lockout for the victim, account takeover attacks are hard to detect and stop until it’s too late. That’s because criminals typically change a victim’s password so that they can log in and do all kinds of damage before the attack is detected.

Prevent account takeover use stolen credentials to access accounts for multiple purposes: mining data, phishing, spamming, multi-accounting for promo abuse or iGaming collusive play, stealing rewards balances, shipping goods, and selling hacked credentials on the dark web. These crimes aren’t new — but attackers are constantly innovating to speed up their efforts and bypass security.

Account Takeover Prevention: Strengthening Your Online Security

A big part of the problem is that many people (in both their personal and professional lives) don’t think about or choose secure passwords. Users follow predictable naming conventions, pick short and easy-to-guess passwords, and reuse them across multiple accounts. This makes one breached account easily accessible to a skilled hacker who can exploit the stolen information to infiltrate a company’s network.

The other big factor is the continued practice of relying on only credentials to authenticate and gain access, rather than using a combination of credentials plus another verification factor. This is why hackers search for accounts that only require credentials – or even worse, usernames and passwords alone – to gain access. The good news is, a simple password removal policy can eliminate most account takeover attacks. Then, security processes can focus on detecting suspicious activity and alerting the right people to halt these threats before they cause any long-term damage.