This report, sponsored by Visa, explores the path from simple authentication to best-in-class authentication. The ultimate goal is to provide Visa’s e-commerce partners with the best path to minimize friction to preserve the customer experience, while also ensuring effective security. This report is derived from the 2021 Identity Fraud Study: Shifting Angles, published by Javelin Strategy & Research in March 2021. Javelin Strategy & Research maintains complete independence in its data collection, findings and analysis.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way criminals commit fraud, and financial-services organizations must respond appropriately and quickly. In 2020, account takeover became the top fraud type, with losses totaling $6 billion. Cybercriminals were on the lookout not only for payment accounts they could exploit but also for non-payment accounts, such as social media or merchant accounts, that held high value on the dark web. As consumers continued to go about their daily lives in a more digital-centric fashion, increasing amounts of personal information were available online to criminals. Thus, robust authentication has never been more important. It must be layered in a way that incorporates several types of verification, such as biometrics and multifactor authentication. It’s time for merchants and financial-services organizations alike to expand fraud-prevention strategies to include authentication protocols, such as 3-D Secure, and increase adoption of and compliance with FIDO Alliance protocols.