prevalence of bots in the hospitality industry , according to Sam Crowther , founder and CEO of Kasada , a bot mitigation platform that protects more than US $ 20 billion in ecommerce transactions , US $ 10 billion in gift and loyalty cards , and hundreds of millions of guest accounts . Bots are used by impersonating humans to steal credit cards , gift vouchers , and reward points .
Hotels have to ensure they are proactively protecting every endpoint on their website , mobile apps and APIs , so that their infrastructure and the customer journey are safeguarded . To this end , using the right online fraud protection and bot management solution is critical , says Benjamin Fabre , co-founder and chief technology officer of DataDome , a global cybersecurity company specialized in bot management .
“ Hotel and travel sites are particularly prone to carding attacks during times of high traffic , like holidays . Hackers hope that the extra traffic will allow their bot attacks to go unnoticed ,” Fabre says . “ When hackers target loyalty coupons , discount codes , or gift cards , attacks are hard to notice , because affected customers don ’ t monitor coupons , codes , and gift cards as closely as they do their credit or debit cards .”
RISE OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS According to DataDome ’ s research , bot attacks have increased 47 % from the past year and cyberattacks targeting the travel industry have skyrocketed since the beginning of COVID-19 . Login and checkout fraud has increased over the past two years , with the rise in digital check-ins and the prevalence and accessibility of sophisticated tools that are used to commit fraud .
“ What ’ s particularly interesting is how the sophistication of the fraudsters have risen since the pandemic to successfully commit the same fraud techniques which have been used for years ,” Crowther explains . “ For example , we have seen a rise in the use of residential proxy networks , aged accounts , CAPTCHA bypasses , highly customized developer tools , and script recorders — all of which evade detection from traditional methods .”
Crowther adds that there has been an uptick in fraudulent payments , carding and loyalty program abuse since the pandemic hit . “ Over the past two months alone , Kasada has observed a quadrupling of automated account balance lookups as fraudsters look to steal online gift cards and loyalty rewards during the holidays ,” he adds .
Steve Blidner , founder and CEO of TTI Technologies , which owns the Scan2PMS software solution , says there has been an increase of chargebacks as a result of a previous guest challenging the bill with the credit card company . “ We have heard from our customers or potential customers that the pandemic has caused a change in the type of customer they usually cater to . Consequently , they have seen more chargebacks and also destruction to rooms and theft ,” he says
SECURING PAYMENTS , CHECK-IN While all hotels offer the most competent security measures , guests must also ensure that their credit cards remain secure .
“ During the booking process , guests must use caution when making purchases on unfamiliar websites promoting exceptional deals on travel . As the old adage goes , if a deal looks too good to be true , it likely is . Virtual credit cards can be a good option if your credit card issuer provides such an option ,” Crowther says .
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