Attacks by bots on retailers are on the rise. The growth of “scraping”, where software automatically extracts information from websites, is also worrying. Fraudulent practices can lead to major financial damage.
Increasing threat
Bots are getting smarter at bypassing traditional bot detection systems, using machine learning and AI. No retailer is immune to this. At the same time, there has been an increase in more direct forms of fraud, such as account takeovers and phishing attacks aimed at stealing sensitive information.
Scraping, the practice of extracting data from websites using automated bots, also poses a significant threat to retailers, including in terms of pricing strategy and product exclusivity. Many retail organisations do not even know they have a scraping problem – or they do not realise the impact this kind of activity has on the business, according to a report by internet service provider Akamai.
Here are ten ways scraping and phishing are increasingly harming retail businesses:
