Axios Live: Crooks have access to more data now than ever before, Visa leader says
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Visa's Paul Fabara on stage with Sam Sabin. Photo: Denny Henry on behalf of Axios
WASHINGTON — Organizations are spending large amounts of money on cyber and scam protection systems, speakers said at an Axios Live event this week.
Why it matters: Retail crime and cyber scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated in the AI era, putting businesses under mounting pressure to protect themselves and their customers.
- Axios' Sam Sabin spoke with Visa chief risk and client services officer Paul Fabara and Georgia Attorney General Christopher Carr at the event, sponsored by RILA Communities Foundation.
What they're saying: "Over the past five years, we have spent around $500 million just in AI alone, and around $12 billion to protect our ecosystem," Fabara said.
State of play: "The ecosystem has shifted dramatically with the proliferation of digital payments, which includes mobile," Fabrara said. "What's happening in there is that more than ever crooks have access to a lot more data than before."
- "It doesn't take much to be able to be a crook out there – you need a digital device, access to the dark web, probably $15 to buy a program, and off you go," he said.
- Visa established its own scam-detection practice this year, which has protected about $1 billion in transactions deemed fraudulent, he said.
What's next: "I think this is the issue for state Attorneys General going forward," Carr said.
- "[W]hen you see the scams that are occurring, and you see this organized retail theft that is occurring, and it's impacting our retailers to the tune of about $3 billion a year, this is an issue for states to get involved in," he said.
Content from the sponsored segment:
In a View From the Top conversation, RILA Communities Foundation executive director Lisa LaBruno explained the recent rise in gift card fraud.
- "Organized retail crime has been around for a long time, and over the last several years, gift card tampering, gift card scams, has become part of this broader organized retail crime activity," LaBruno said. "And one of the reasons why gift cards seem to be exploited is that they are quickly converted to cash."
