Attacks of this kind can affect organizations that accept online payments, like ecommerce websites, and ruin their reputation. At the same time, customers whose identities and payment information are stolen become victims of identity theft and credit card fraud.
Hackers can carry out this attack very easily. Read on to know more about formjacking and ways to prevent such attacks.
More on Formjacking
Being a new-age scam that involves stealing credit card information and other financial information, formjacking attacks begin when hackers inject malicious JavaScript code into a website. This card-scamming attack is similar to card skimming, which you may have heard of already. Card skimming is where a small device, aka skimmer, is added to card readers by hackers at the time of the sale. This device installed by attackers will read and store payment information from the magnetic strip of the debit or credit card. Card readers at gas pumps and ATMs are the ones that are targeted by attackers for these kinds of attacks. That is because card readers at ATMs and gas pumps are easily accessible when compared to the ones at stores.
Formjacking attacks are very similar to the attacks carried out using card skimmers. Though it is similar to skimming, formjacking is easier to execute than card skimming. Attackers just have to identify the website they wish to attack, and the attack starts as soon as they inject malicious code into the site.
When a user enters financial information on the website’s payment page, the information is not just sent to the website but to the attacker who injected malicious code. The user may not be aware of the fact that their information is being sent to the attacker when they think it’s being sent to the website. That is because the transaction will look like a normal transaction when they hit Submit after providing their personal information. There will be no sign of threats to the user, and they will never be able to make out that their information is going to be stolen. Likewise, the website owner will also not be able to detect this kind of attack.
With this kind of attack on the rise, it is important to be aware of it. According to Symantec’s 2019 report, cybercriminals have compromised around 5000 websites by injecting malicious JavaScript code. Similarly, Symantec has blocked over 37 million attempts made by attackers using formjacking code. The agency claims that attackers can make millions of dollars by stealing credit card information from several users.
Formjacking is generally used to steal credit card information , so hackers will target websites that have payment pages (like an ecommerce site). While they steal payment information, they also steal users’ personal information. They either use this information to steal money themselves or sell off the information for a payment.
How to Prevent Formjacking?
As a user, you will need to be aware of this kind of attack and stay alert. If your credit card details have been stolen, you will then know that you may have been a victim of formjacking when you notice the unusual activity on your credit or debit card. Similarly, you might be contacted by the bank regarding such unusual activities, or you can also check your monthly statements to know if your card is being used without your knowledge.
Most of us make at least one online transaction per week. We do not think much about it while making a transaction and we just assume the website to be secure and make transactions. We think the website is secure and it will protect our privacy. But when that is not the case, it is important to understand the threats involved. You need not worry about it and stop making transactions. All you need to do is to be aware of threats online and see to it that your information is secure and private online.
You can prevent attackers from stealing your credit card details by using a masked credit card. Masked credit cards are nothing but cards that come with one-time use card details that cannot be used again to make transactions. Once you use this masked credit card for a transaction in-store or online, you will not be able to use the same credentials to make another transaction. Though many wrongly believe that masked credit cards are fake, they are not and they will help you make secure transactions.
How to Deal with Formjacking
Though it is not so easy to detect formjacking, you can take certain steps to prevent yourself from becoming a victim of this kind of attack.
Make sure to check your credit card account and check if the card has been used without your knowledge. If you find transactions you do not recognize, call your bank’s customer support to report them. You can choose to cancel your card if you feel that your financial information has been compromised. If you do so, the bank will send you a new card immediately. You can keep track of your bank statements to make sure you do not become a victim of fraud.
How Businesses Can Prevent Formjacking
With a lot of businesses coming under formjacking attacks, as a business owner, there are a few steps you can take to prevent your website from becoming a victim of this. The following are certain ways to prevent formjacking attacks.
- Using an antivirus software is one of the best ways to prevent your website from becoming a victim of formjacking.
- You can make sure the software is up-to-date. When you update your software to the most recent version, you can be assured that all the security features are up to date too.
- Vulnerability scans and penetration tests will also help you identify vulnerabilities in your software and fix them.
Final Thoughts
With formjacking becoming more and more common these days, we hope this article helped you understand what formjacking is and how to prevent it. Though it seems tough to detect and prevent this kind of attack, you can prevent it if you stay alert and on top of your website/finances.