ZapFraud Launches Online Scam Blocking Service
Palo Alto, CA (PRWEB) May 20, 2015 -- ZapFraud launches patent-pending online scam blocking service to address rapidly growing email fraud threats that existing technologies don’t effectively detect. Scams today use sophisticated social engineering techniques to appear legitimate and target consumers, businesses, and government agencies, effectively stealing billions of dollars annually.
Dr. Markus Jakobsson, world-renowned expert in malware, phishing and fraud, founded ZapFraud (http://www.zapfraud.com) to detect scams and automatically block them before they can become a threat.
“Though social engineering isn’t new, technology advancements, social media and online searches empower a dangerous breed of scammer, who can achieve the appearance of legitimacy and precisely target more victims than previously possible,” said ZapFraud founder Dr. Markus Jakobsson.
“As online scammers continue to gain in organization, sophistication, and informational exploitation, they grow their cash flow both by stealing more per victim, and by increasing victimization rates. Scam emails can be the starting point of Identity Theft. ZapFraud addresses this escalating threat,” explains Jakobsson.
According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), 3.5% of the U.S. adult population are victims of online scams each year, with median loss of $2,000 per incident. Nearly 9 million consumers are scammed each year and many more uncalculated victims of enterprise scams are targeted to steal valuable Intellectual Property (IP), funds and credentials.
ZapFraud detects scam from the message storylines, reducing exposure for millions of potential targets. Using patent-pending fraud detection algorithms that employ computational linguistics, ZapFraud continuously adapts as scammers introduce new storylines or vary tactics, automatically preventing scams from entering the inbox.
“APWG welcomes the contributions ZapFraud can make in the fight against scams and online fraud,” said Peter Cassidy, Secretary General of the Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG), the worldwide coalition unifying the global response to cybercrime. “The automation of fraud detection is of great interest to the APWG, and should be to all stakeholders. The automation of attack has been current art for more than a decade and, given the subsequent growth in all manner of frauds and phishing schemes, there will never be enough hands in the universe to manually process and report phishing emails.”
Frank Caruana, ZapFraud Chief Revenue Officer said, “ZapFraud works to instill digital trust by blocking this growing vulnerability and proactively preventing this criminal community from targeting our email inboxes with scams.”
Scam Versus Spam - What’s the difference?
Scam is not spam, differing primarily by degree and intent. Spam emails typically promote real goods or services with false or inflated claims, while scam emails target individuals to steal credentials and funds directly from the consumer.
Scam Detection is Critical - Why ZapFraud?
With personal information derived from malware, online security breaches and social media, scammers play on psychological vulnerabilities, such as job loss, weight loss, adoption, death in the family, etc. to customize storylines and entice victims to engage.
Keep Scams Out of the Inbox – How does ZapFraud work?
ZapFraud currently offers consumers two protection services, and is adding an enterprise service in the near future. The free auto-responder service is available to anyone suspecting fraud and wanting to check emails with ZapFraud, by sending suspicious email to help(at)zapfraud(dot)com.
Additionally, ZapFraud also offers a continuous scam monitoring service that automatically blocks scam email, and is free to anyone who registers during the initial six-month trial period. Sign-up is available at http://www.zapfraud.com.
About ZapFraud:
ZapFraud is the leading provider of proactive email and online scam protection services for consumers, as well as threat detection services for enterprises. ZapFraud’s patent-pending scam protection service helps provide peace of mind for consumers as they face the increasing and ever-changing threat of email, social media and online phishing scammers who attempt to steal intellectual property, identity, online credentials and, ultimately, their hard-earned money. Visit http://www.zapfraud.com for more information.
Natalie Beck, PR Consultant, Beck Marketing, http://www.zapfraud.com, +1 (602) 317-5162, [email protected]
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